My Worth Is Not Defined By My Marital Status

My Worth Is Not Defined By My Marital Status

Every season of life is going to have its ups and its downs, its pros and its cons. Whether that be high school, college, grad school, single life, married life, family life, or whatever else. Different seasons. Different experiences. Different stories. I am in a season where I am in my late 20s and find myself single. That is the point of view from which I will be sharing with you. I think it is important to be honest about where we are because people who aren’t in the same place don’t fully understand. So here is a small taste of my single life—small taste of it all.  

I have a screenshot of a text message from one of my close friends. It says, “You are more than enough. Date or no date.” I had just finished telling this friend that I was mad at myself for thinking I needed to bring a date to a holiday party where I’d be the only single person. The friends who were throwing the holiday party never told me I needed to bring someone and have actually never put any kind of pressure on me like that. So why was that my initial reaction?  

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Identity Christ-is

Identity Christ-is

It’s no secret that times are tough right now in the oil industry. I know this first-hand. 

With such a huge drop in revenue because of low commodity prices, publicly held companies are doing nearly everything they can to cut costs, make ends meet, and return value to shareholders.

Unfortunately, sometimes being frugal, pacing out projects, and renegotiating contracts is not enough. The next thing that happens is employees start getting laid off.

Over the last few months, I faced a very real possibility that I would be laid off. 

I know that the reason for layoffs is simply to right-size the workforce during periods of reduced or little activity. The reason is not personal; it’s not to be mean. It literally is “just business.” 

But if you’re on the receiving end, it can definitely feel personal. It hurts our self-esteem, our sense of worth. 

Why is that?

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Life at 26

Life at 26

Ten years ago I was a junior in high school. If you had asked 16-year old Emily where she thought she would be at 26, she probably would have told you something that looks very different from the life I am actually living now.  

My Checklist

In high school I was very much influenced by my surroundings and adopted a checklist of certain expectations for my life. Here were the big ones:

  1. Graduate college in four years.
  2. Get married by 22.
  3. Have my first kid by 25.
  4. Start my own business before 30. 
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