The Single Woman

I never win anything.  Or if I do, it ends up being a good-for-nothing prize. Like the time I won a gift certificate for a free meal at one of my favorite restaurants by calling into the radio, and then when my family went to go cash it in the following week, we found the restaurant to be closed; as in chains on the door, no longer in business, closed.  Or when my senior prom date begged me to go home early from after prom, just fifteen minutes before the big announcement of door prizes, in which I would have won a big screen TV, had I been present to accept it.

So needless to say, when I got an email last Friday saying that I was selected as one of 10 winners to participate in an interactive webinar with one of my favorite ladies as of late (The Single Woman author, Mandy Hale), I jumped out of my chair and squealed like the girl that I am.  And it couldn’t have come at a better time!

It’s funny how these things happen, in a timing that only God could allow, as if he’s winking at you saying, “Here, you deserve something special for all of the hard work you’ve been doing. Now go and enjoy yourself!”  It just so happened that my Zumba class (that I am very faithful in attending) was cancelled for Tuesday, so I was free to accept the invitation.

I tested out my webcam (via Skype) to be sure it would work properly and sat down and reread some of my favorite parts of The Single Woman book before the webinar began.

At 7/6c the webinar began and we spent the first few minutes sorting out how to enable our cameras and microphones, and how to reduce the terrible echo we were getting from mic feedback, but we were on our way.Why was I suddenly so nervous?  My heart was beating a mile a minute and all I could think of was, I should have put my contacts in, you can’t even see my eyeballs from the glare!

Mandy was ever your southern gal, sweet and dignified.  She shared with us that the seven of us were “hand picked” to be a part of the webinar because she recognized how strongly we had connected to the book through our interactions on social media.  And as suddenly as the nerves had come to the focus of my mind, it all disappeared and suddenly I felt like I was chatting with old friends.

She encouraged each of us to share our thoughts about the book and to ask any questions we had.  One by one we gave our unscripted thoughts and though it was tricky speaking through the echoed feedback of our own voices, it was quickly realized that even though we stem from different parts of the country, we’re all very much alike.  “We are strong. We are invincible. We are all…The Single Woman.”

We each shared some of the details of disastrous dates that we have gone on, some ending with the man requesting $40, or another asking to borrow her car, or a guy leaning in for a full-on-the-mouth kiss unexpectedly, or a guy flat out coming off way too forward, way too soon.  It’s no wonder that the seven of us bonded so quickly; with men like that in our pasts.

What was unexpected from the experience, was a connection on an even deeper level (much deeper than dissing old flames).  A connection of seven God-fearing women coming together to lift each other up, to lend a word of advice, to share common struggles, and to encourage one another.

Thank you to #TheSWCrew: Mandy, Jodi, Jazmin, Kristen, Ashley and Jennifer for such a blessed and fun-filled evening! Thank you for making my heart smile and helping me to realize that we are indeed beautiful women who, through prayer, can do anything!

Mandy tweeted an excerpt from her book last night that speaks so clearly to the connection that the seven of us in that webinar made.

We’re not alone in this journey, even if it is unaccompanied.  We’re walking together, hand in hand, supporting one another, cheering each other on as we battle the fears, anxieties, and loneliness.  We’re all in this together and we’re going to come out of this experience, as single women in 2013, stronger and more apt to take on the world of relationships and marriage.

We don’t have to sit idle and wait for Prince Charming to ride up on his white steed.  We should get out there and face the world and live our lives to the fullest.  We should grow in our faith and challenge ourselves to become the wives our future husbands will need us to be.  We should read books and go to movies (even going to the theater alone), we should travel and take night classes to learn new subjects for the heck of it.  We should jump on bandwagons and support causes that mean something to us, and we should not fear being the third (or any other odd number) wheel by spending time with our married friends.  “We are strong.  We are invincible.  We are all…The Single Woman.”