Okay, girls. So we all know that this time of year is full of many things. In terms of shopping and busy city streets and stressing over finding the perfect gift for everyone.

Along with this comes one thing that all of us single gals tend to notice more than most - the myriad of pictures that flood social media with couples so in love and enjoying the Christmas season. They give each other the most extravagant gifts and show them off, or they visit every light display and take pictures wherever possible then post them everywhere.

You might say I'm hating on people that are in relationships. However, I'm more than happy for them if they are truly in love and enjoy each other's company. I am simply here to say a word to the girls that are continuously discouraged by these things.

Ladies. Warning. Just hear me out and listen to it all before you jump to finishing my sentences.

If you don't have someone special in your life right now that is actively pursuing you, it's okay. Yes. It actually sucks sometimes because as humans we all desire to be loved and to love, but hear me out. Do. Not. Settle. You are worth more than you could ever imagine.

Although a lot of us have made mistakes and we are not perfect in the slightest, there is a man that God has made specifically to help you grow, lift you up, see the beauty in your scars, love you as Jesus loves His church and to draw you closer to Him.

It seems unreal, doesn't it? I think about this very often. And since we think this way, we settle for less than that expectation by a long-shot. I've fallen short of this so many times and it's time that it stopped. There's a few things that I've realized that I thought I'd share.

One, I use to wear makeup every single day. Then, I came to college and realized that that was way too much work. I'd always seen myself as okay without it but felt like I had to where it to feel good about myself. Don't get me wrong, I love makeup and I really do believe that it is a form of art, but it shouldn't define how a young girl views herself. Now that I believe this and don't wear it as much anymore, I've come to realize too that the right man will not look at you and solely see your physical appearance. The right man will look at you and see your soul and your heart that is on fire for the Lord and that beauty will only add to the gorgeous woman that you are on the outside.

Another thing is that if we are asking for a certain type of man to walk into our life, then we need to be using this time as single young women to grow and become the person that the one guy out there is searching for too. Singleness is a time when we can focus solely on ourselves to grow in our relationship with friends, family, but most importantly, the Lord. There's an illustration that I once heard from one of the leaders in CRU at Georgia Southern. Nick Nabors once gave us the illustration that we should live life and pursue God. Don't worry about looking for the "right one" because if we are running 110%, full throttle, seeking, loving, pursing our Creator, then once we're continuously pursuing Him and no one else, we'll just need to do one thing. We will look beside us in our journey with Him - and that is where we will find the men worth spending our lives with.

Like I've said before, our God is a very jealous God and until He knows for sure that we aren't going to make our relationship a priority above Him, then He will keep giving us more and more time to grow and pursue Him to ensure that our future relationship will put Him at the very center.

There are three verses that I'll leave you with that point to some of what I've touched on and I lean on them always.

Galatians 5:16 - "I say then, walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh." [ So not trying to fix ourselves for the right person, but looking and seeking the Lord's guidance in our life. Through this He will fill us and our actions will only reflect that very fact. The fact that our hearts desire God daily.]

Psalm 37:4 - "Delight thyself also in the LORD; and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart." [If we truly seek and put Him first all of the blessings will follow. It's important to know that those blessings will happen in God's time and form, not of our own.]

Isaiah 40:29-31 - "He gives strength to the weary and strengthens the powerless. Youths may faint and grow weary, and young men stumble and fall, but those who trust in the Lord will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not faint." [Our trust has to lye in him. Him alone. If we are pursuing Him everything will happen as it should.]

So girls, don't be discouraged. We have to see the joy in everyday and not run to the wrong places to settle when we don't get hat we want immediately.

Truly pursue your relationship with the Lord so that, when you least expect it, you'll be ready for the person that God drops into your journey.