‘To everything there is a season,’ the classic Sixties rock number goes (though the Bible got there first in Ecclesiastes 3), and so it is with your dating life. There will be times of fallowness, like winter, when romantic life appears dormant. Don’t be discouraged. During winter a lot happens below the surface so that new life takes root and then blossoms into relationship possibilities when spring comes. Here are some suggestions for making a fallow time fruitful.

For many of us around the globe, 2020 hasn’t gone to plan. Perhaps we’d hoped to be further along our dating journey by this point, but coronavirus has derailed our dreams. The good news is we have almost half of 2020 left. So why not use this point to create a positive vision for the second half of the year and to get clarity on your next steps to a fulfilling relationship?

Dating can be tricky at the best of times. We may struggle to meet compatible people or fledgling relationships may fail again and again, leaving us back at square one. Add in huge challenges such as the coronavirus, which has led to social distancing in many parts of the world, and we might be tempted to throw in the towel. So how do we hold on to hope?

The Easter story is, above all, the story of our redemption. It reminds us of the price Jesus paid for us, to bring us back into relationship with our heavenly Father. But it is also the story of hope in the darkest of times, and of Jesus appearing, or drawing near to us when we need him the most. During the coronavirus pandemic those of us who are single can feel our alone-ness more deeply than ever. But we know that’s not the full story.

Social distancing. Self isolation. Widespread lockdown. So much about how we live has changed in such a short time. If we’re single, and especially if we’re living on our own, this new and rapidly shifting reality can make us acutely aware of our aloneness and bring up some difficult feelings. So how can we love ourselves and take good care of ourselves during these challenging times?

Lindsay met Steve on Christian Connection – but found the dating journey more challenging than she expected! Her story is honest, thought provoking and encouraging. “For a long time I had been a very content and fulfilled single person. My job, home, friends and family filled my life and my desire to meet someone and […]

I used to have a prayer corner in my living room. It was a beautiful little desk, dedicated to just prayer. It was in a windowless corner of my house, making it free from distractions. It wasn’t where I sat down to do any work or bookkeeping or any of the boring stuff that needs doing as well. It was purely my place to pray. I had a candle there I could light as a symbol of God’s presence. There was a stack of prayer books, bibles, devotionals to choose from if I needed inspiration. There was also a ‘board of inspiration’ on which were prayer request from friends and missionaries I supported, prayer letters, drawings, whatever inspired me to pray for someone or something. I regularly changed what was on there.

Sometimes it can seem like Christianity asks a lot of us. Yes, we get the assurance of salvation, our sins forgiven, and a wonderful relationship with Jesus, but then there’s all the extras. The lifestyle of purity, the commitment to loving community, the many, many meetings…