Hello. It’s me.

Hello world.

Thank you for taking the time to stumble across my first blog post! Whether you find yourself here through intrigue, or because I persistently asked you to check it out, your presence is greatly appreciated. 

My name is Natalie and, as the intro on the homepage states, I am a single Christian woman. Of course, I am indeed many other things too - a daughter, a close friend, a follower of Jesus Christ, a former lawyer, a musician, and a leader in full-time Christian ministry. It is fair to say that I have many hats!

However, over recent months, God has placed in my heart a burden for single people, both inside and outside of Christian circles. This is obviously a subject that hits very close to home for me, being single myself. I write this at 32 years old, having never been in a relationship, never been kissed, or managing to get to a third date. I don’t just have a few thoughts on singleness; I live out this reality every day so far. 

Many times, particularly when feelings of loneliness and isolation crept up on me, I would scour the YouTube archives looking for any Christian content aimed at encouraging single women. Now, I am not saying that it’s all bad out there but, if I’m being honest, a lot of it frustrates me. All this talk about ‘waiting seasons’ and ‘enduring the in-between’, as if singleness is some sort of limbo that we’ll eventually be pulled out of if we simply complete more Bible reading plans and journal each morning, is highly tedious to listen to especially when coming from 23 year olds. Sometimes I want to scream at the screen - ‘there’s so much more out there than this!’. 

I recall the summer of 2021, before I first entered into full-time ministry. In the week leading up to church on Sunday, I was wrestling with whether investing more into ministry would mean sacrificing the opportunity to meet more people and, hopefully, pursue a relationship with someone. The truth is I longed for marriage, for a family of my own, but with there being no real prospects at my church at the time I feared that spending more time there would just mean less chance of that happening. 

After the service, one of my current colleagues approached me with a prophetic word. She sensed that God was calling me into leadership, something that would involve mission and be pioneering. She then asked if I was single at the moment. I replied that I was, knowing that we had never really spoken about my love life before. In response, she shared that God was calling me to go now, just as I am, and not to worry about singleness holding me back. 

This moment had a profound effect on me in two ways. Firstly, it showed me yet again that God sees us so much more than we realise. He sees our worries and anxieties, our dreams and desires. He cares about them deeply and He wishes to speak to us about them. 

Secondly, it cemented in me the idea that singleness isn’t a waiting period to be endured, but a blessing and a gift to be celebrated and taken advantage of for God’s glory. It’s not a ‘how long’ but a ‘what’s next’!

That is why I have titled this site What’s Next? I want to continually ask this question, to use this time - however long or short it may be - to live the fullest experience of Christian life possible, and to share my experiences and reflections with you in the hope that you can be deeply encouraged and empowered to do the same. 

So a Happy New Year to you - may God bless you as he shares what’s in store for 2024!