It’s day three of 31 Days of Interviews with Single Women Making a Difference. You can find a list of all the interviews in this post.
Let me introduce you to Joy Pedrow! Joy writes:
I am content in being single, unless I take my eyes off of Jesus and onto the world.
Joy is a 21-year-old senior in college. Congratulations, Joy! Joy will start seminary in 2015, and her calling is to vocational ministry where she plans to become a leader is women’s ministry as a Christian speaker and writer. Joy writes at Joy Pedrow Ministries. Let’s read more of her thoughts on singleness.
Brenda: First, tell us a little about yourself – your name, age, where you live, and where you grew up.
Joy: Hi Friends! My name is Joy Pedrow. I’m 21 and from a town called Monroeville, outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I moved to Tampa, FL to go to college at the University of South Florida. I will graduate this December, on 12-13-14 to be exact. Awesome date, right?! I will have a degree in communications focusing on relational communications with a minor in business. Starting Fall 2015, I plan to start seminary to earn my Masters of Divinity.
Brenda: Where do you work, and how did you get started in your job?
Joy: Right now, I am a student at the University of South Florida. I graduate this December! My blog JoyPedrow.wordpress.com is a part-time job, but I hope that it becomes full-time. I started the blog in 2013 for my senior thesis and fell in love with writing. My goal was to market and brand myself as a Christian writer and speaker, because that was my ideal career. The project has become more than an assignment. I believe that God is preparing me for a future in women’s ministry. For years, I looked up to women like Beth Moore and Lysa Terkeurst. Their ministries inspire me because of the impact that they have had on me and other women. I hope to also impact women and help them experience Jesus, experience His joy, and experience His freedom.
Brenda: What fires you up? What are you most passionate about in your life and in the world?
Joy: I feel called to help women understand the love of God and help them grow in their spiritual journeys. In college, Jesus softened my heart so I could surrender my life to him. Jesus has changed my life, and I want other women to experience the love of our Savior. In college my passion deepened as Jesus connected me with Cru, a college ministry, and my church. I went on a 10 week mission trip to Miami the summer of 2013 with Cru. In Miami, Jesus showed me how powerful our stories are. I feel called to use my story to help other women find hope and love in Jesus and experience healing.
Brenda: Tell us one thing you LOVE about being single and one thing you hate (or your biggest struggle) about being single.
Joy: I absolutely love living in community with my girlfriends in our apartment. Being constantly surrounded by Godly women is awesome. I love how much fun we have, and how any time I need someone to talk to or pray with they are here.
The hardest part of being single for me is trusting God that his plans are perfect. He knows all and I am just a little dot on the line of eternity, yet I still tend to think my ideas are better than God’s.
Brenda: I imagine there are times when you feel content in your singleness and other times when you want to throw something across the room because of it, but overall, how do you feel about being a single woman? Is there more contentment and peace or more of the opposite?
Joy: I am content in being single, unless I take my eyes off of Jesus and onto the world. Specifically, if I watch a movie or TV show with a romance plot, which includes most movies and shows, I tend to get frustrated with being single. I see what they have and I think, “God, why can’t I have that?” I know that I’m watching a fake relationship, but my mind does not care. My mind still gets upset and begins to question God’s plan. Over the summer, I realized that watching movies and shows was causing my mind to stumble. I decided to not watch anything with a romance plot for a whole month. Wow, what a difference! My heart had never been so full! I realized that when trying to trust in God’s perfect plan, watching fake relationships on TV is poison. These relationships are not real, and are rarely a good representation of Godly relationships or Christ’s love.
We need to fight against the lie the Devil and the world is trying to feed us that we need a man to complete us. If you are single and struggling finding contentment, stop watching this junk. Stop watching the sex scenes. Stop watching weddings. Stop looking at wedding pins on Pinterest. Step away from the poison, and turn to the one who can fill this void – Jesus.
Brenda: What is your biggest pet peeve about the way single women are perceived?
Joy: The advice others give single women is my biggest pet peeve. To all the non-single people, be careful what “advice” you tell someone. I had someone say, “If you want a boyfriend, go out and look. Maybe you’re not putting yourself out there enough.” Please don’t say that to someone. As godly women, we are trying to learn how to trust in God’s perfect timing and be completely satisfied in Jesus. When you tell someone to just go look for a man, you are furthering the thought that we need a man to complete us. No man, not even the man you marry, will complete you. Only Jesus can complete us.
Brenda: What else do we need to know about you? Where can we connect with you online?
Joy: Let’s stay connected! Find me on social media!
Blog: joypedrow.wordpress.com
Facebook: Joy Pedrow Ministries
Twitter: @joypedrow
Pinterest: Joy Pedrow Ministries
Instagram: joypedrow
Leave a Reply