Single Again

Divorced. Single again. Now what? Being in a broken and abusive marriage was hard. Coming out of it was even harder. I was lonely, sad, depressed, angry and hurt. My dreams had been crushed. The life I thought I was going to have no longer was. I had to move back in with my parents and carried a huge amount …

The shame that came with getting divorced got so bad that I hid it from new people I met. I moved from Chicagoland to Texas for a new job. I didn’t know a single soul. I figured this was my chance to get a fresh start. When people asked me if I’d been married before I changed the subject, pretended …

It’s interesting when you’re single for the second round. You get to hear a lot of life stories, ponder a lot of life lessons, and get insight into a lot of life’s mishaps in different marriages. Because when you’ve been married and then lost that relationship, others who have done the same feel free to share their stories. In the …

I don’t like being alone. There is a certain pathetic feeling to it. Especially going to restaurants. The hostess is pulling out menus as you approach the counter, and when you say, “Table for one,” she glances behind you as if to say, “Are you sure?” while she quickly stuffs the unneeded menus back under the counter. Going to movies …

I’m so tired of crying. I cried when my first girlfriend and I broke up and I cried when my second girlfriend and I broke up. I felt this deep sadness and despair. I contemplated what I could have done differently to keep the relationship going. I wrestled with those thoughts and tried to put together the jigsaw that seemed …

I was an ugly child. At least, if you’d asked me, I’d have told you that. I was reminded of it in a thousand little ways. The way my dad ignored me when I’d try to talk to him. The way he shook his head at everything I did. The way he never came to any of my performances. The …

I nearly cried myself to sleep, but I cried myself awake instead. Stretched out on the small square of carpet by the side of my bed, I wept. Why is it that both love and pain seem to coexist so beautifully? I certainly did not have an answer on that particular day, but that question was the start of a reoccurring …

I had just left my husband. I had also just broken up with the man with whom I was having an affair. I was alone. I thought I wanted to be alone, and then on Christmas day I felt the gravity of my decision. I was at my parents’ house surrounded by my siblings. Two of them were married, and …

Jada’s story Jada’s husband died suddenly and unexpectedly from a heart attack while crossing the finish line of a marathon. He had fulfilled a dream to complete a marathon, but it had cost him his life. In that instant, Jada’s life as she knew it crumbled, and now she had the long, hard journey of raising her three children alone. …

That poem kept coming to mind. It spoke as if God knew how much I wanted someone to love me and stay with me. It spoke of that someone being prepared for me. It also spoke so much more—words that messed with me. My sister had it framed in her room. God was framing it in my heart. I wanted …