Single, Married, or Somewhere Inbetween?

Married for close to two decades with no children, I find myself in the Somewhere Inbetween category. Based on murmurings I've overheard and questionable, quizzical, and even suspicious glances I've gotten (usually at church), it seems that there are more than a few people out there who don't consider Mr. M and I to truly know what it is to be a family since we don't have kids. From conversations with single friends, it is apparent that they, too, are made to feel like non-adults who haven't fully realized their potential. I've heard people (again, usually at church) talk to my single friends as if they are living in a waiting room just waiting for the doctor to see them. To the shame of the church, this idea that a life has to look just one certain way to be legit, is often perpetuated by church members, sometimes in very tangible and obvious ways. God has a unique plan for every one of His children, and when we subtly or overtly judge others' lives and question His plans, we are judging God and His plans, and thinking we could do it better. Nothing short of repentance is called for in this case. Let us all examine ourselves and be right with God and man.