By 
There are many scenarios in which people today live their single lives. They are single by death, divorce, separation, abandonment and some by choice. Whatever the reason, living single can bring many benefits and pose some monumental challenges. If you’re single, look at the tremendous amount of freedom you have with regards to how you spend your time. You have no one to consult or coordinate plans and schedules with; but on the other hand, if you are a single parent, you have the sole responsibility to provide for the needs, care and well-being of your children. If you add another relationship to these responsibilities, you have a very busy lifestyle.
Having joined various Internet dating sites, I realized that there are many people who have reached middle age without ever being married. I cannot speak to this scenario with any degree of experience because I have been married. My friends who are single by choice at the point of midlife have shared with me the benefits and challenges of being single. I think we should establish this fact: single doesn’t necessarily mean lonely. In essence, the lifestyle of a bachelor implies strong, independent and focused.
Whether single by choice or not, there are some real challenges we face every day.
1. The challenge of too much to do and only one of me.
The days we live in are demanding. It takes a lot of effort, energy, and time to work out, eat right, and try to stay fit. Add housework, car maintenance, bookkeeping, and paying attention to your life of faith to the mix, and your plate is full. Now, that only describes the responsibilities of a single person. If you are a single parent, add to those responsibilities the care and provision of a child or children.
Stress and fatigue will be the norm if you don’t decide the course of your life and then stay focused on that course.
2. The dating challenge
Dating can be interesting, challenging, scary, and sometimes it can feel like an incredible waste of time. If you’re casually dating, where would you start looking for a date? If you have ever visited an Internet dating site, you know that these can be very interesting. People can be whatever they want to hide behind a well-written profile page; they can throw in some pretty pictures of themselves and there they are, the person of your dreams.
If not online, where do you find potential dates? There are so many single people out there, why can’t I find at least one person to date? Honestly, after being single for more than half my life, I’ve come to this conclusion:
Psalm 37:4 (NAS)
Delight yourself in the LORD; and He will grant you the desires of your heart
If you look at the creation story, you will find Adam attending to and taking care of his responsibilities in God’s new world. God recognized his need for companionship and created for him a woman, Eve. The lesson here is that when we trust in God’s provision and attend to His plans for our lives, He will also provide and meet the needs of our relationship. He doesn’t let loneliness or other pressures lead him to make poor dating decisions. He goes slow before making commitments. If you find yourself single again, or as an option, he continues to learn and grow to become or continue to live “successfully single.”