A handful of my coworkers at Chick-fil-A are teenagers and several of them are in relationships.

Now, I’m not in a relationship for a handful of personal reasons (as well as reasons I’ve mentioned to y’all before) but hearing about my coworkers relationships makes me grateful that I’m not in a relationship. In fact, they make me want to never be in a relationship!

Let me explain.

First off, every time one of my coworkers—I’ll call her Avery—comes in for her shift, she always has something to say about her boyfriend or ex. And don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind hearing about her drama. But every time I see her, she’s in an argument with her boyfriend…and each time it’s a new fight.

Same goes for the other teens. And several of them have at least one ex—which isn’t a problem, but these are juniors and seniors. How much dating have they been doing to have one ex and one current relationship, with not much time in between the beginning and end of both relationships?

Now, I don’t have a problem with people dating in high school. It can be cool, it can be fun, and sometimes it’s really fruitful, either ending in wisdom or marriage if you’re really blessed.

But these relationships make me realize how much my upbringing has really shaped my dating life. Several of my coworkers just seem desperate a relationship, and are ready to settle, while I can see where they’re coming from, I also try to be very intentional with my relationships, both platonic and romantic.

If I don’t date you, it’s not personal.

But it’s rather that I just don’t see myself in a relationship with you and I want to save both of us pain in the future. The small amount of nonattached pain right now is much less painful than the amount of pain from a committed relationship.

Anyways, going back to my coworkers.

A lot of them, shockingly, aren’t actually Christians. This Chick-fil-A is actually really lax with who they hire…so I’m one of the few active believers at work.

And something HUGE that I’ve learned is how grateful I am for the upbringing I was raised in. Specifically, the Christian household and people I grew up with, the no social media limits, and the people who have handed down dating and relationship wisdom to me.

As I bring this post to a close, I do have a request.

Like I said, I’m one of the few believers at my workplace and although that is slightly disheartening for when it comes to making good, godly friends, it’s also a good reminder for me to be an example of a Christian and steward of light. So I would really appreciate prayers that I can be a good representation of what Christ stands for and a living testimony of his love. Thank you guys so much!

Now I’d love to hear in the comments: what are some lessons you’ve learned that a lot of people don’t know (and that they should know)?

Thanks for reading! Have a great day.
~Willow