Is it Bad to be proud I'm single?

After all, ANY ONE can make it in a pair, but there are only a few of us that can stand alone.

I caught myself thinking this the other day, and I started to laugh. When did I start thinking that my singleness was a badge of courage? You know, like a badge I keep in my purse ready to whip out at the right moment and say:
Please remain calm, folks. I’m SINGLE. I can handle this. See my badge!

It is a positive thing that I’m not moping about in shame because I don’t have a life partner. Sorry, Jane Austen, but I don’t think I could have handled your time period when it was shameful to be unmarried still at 25 let alone 33. And I must say that I’m glad of my independence. I like living alone and am pleased that I’ve formed my own “family” in the people around me. However, I hardly think I’m supposed to be wearing my singleness like a medal of honor or a pageant sash either. There has to be balance somewhere.

The truth is that I seem to have lost some respect for the institution of marriage, and that’s a bit concerning to me. Somehow being out on my own for 10+ years seems to have warped my view. It’s as if I have taken marriage off the pedestal now, which is not altogether a bad thing since I used to revere it more than I should have. But now, marriage has been thrown to the curb and replaced by something else on the pedestal entirely—PRIDE at the status quo.

LORD, help me to respect the institution of marriage even if it’s not for me!