Shelia Copeland really outdid herself when she wrote Saved and Single. An exhilarating story that follows the life of a thirty-two-year-old virgin named Tiffany and the counterparts within her life. Tiffany is a wedding planner who is saved and has been waiting patiently for God to send her the right husband for quite some time. When presented with the opportunity to plan her crush, Myles’s, wedding Tiffany accepts and gets to know her crush a little better. The story opens on the day of Myles’s wedding, however, his bride, a super star actress named Melody gets cold feet and jilts her super fine fiancé at the altar. Tiffany sees this opportunity as being a sign from God. As if God was telling her that she was meant to be with Myles and not the superficial non-Christian woman he was about to marry. Just when things were about to go somewhere between Tiffany and Myles, Melody pops back in to picture and Tiffany is left high and dry by her dream man.
Tiffany’s sister Shay is her complete opposite. A mother of three, Shay is definitely a thrill seeker when it comes to meeting new people (mainly men). She lives with her unemployed boyfriend/babies daddy of 10 years in a very nice neighborhood. Shay is ready to move on to find a new relationship with a man who is romantic, fit, and more importantly has a job, but she can’t seem to let go of the father of her three kids. Flirtatious with every other man except her own, Shay finds comfort in an online dating site where she uses her sister’s picture as her own to find true love.
Deborah is Tiffany’s best friend from college. The two of them have been together through thick and thin. A devout Christian just like Tiffany, Deborah has been waiting for God to send her husband to her as well. As a successful lawyer she is the epitome of what an independent woman should look like. She’s beautiful, stylish, and quick to tell anyone in public that she does not need a man to define her worth. She is known for quoting the phrase, “The devil is a liar” as her motto for any given situation. However, in private Deborah is secretly a tease, very lonely, and desperate to find a husband. When her much younger assistant turns up engaged to her boss at the company’s annual Christmas party, Deborah is more determined than ever to help rush God in the process of sending her a man.
On the day of Myles’s wedding someone left flyers on the cars outside promoting a new website, www.savedandsingle.com. It was a Christian website popular in helping other saved single Christians connect and find love. After church one Sunday Tiffany, Deborah, and Myles met up at Shay’s house for Sunday dinner. During dessert Deborah decided it would be fun to sign everyone up for the saved and single website, but Tiffany thought it would be best for her to wait on God.Ultimately, each person got what they wanted or deserved the most. Deborah found her Mr. Right through the website. He was successful, rich, fine, and he loved his mother dearly. Unfortunately, he was hiding a terrible secret that Deborah quickly found to be too much to handle. This example teaches individuals to wait until you know your spouse fully before jumping the broom and getting married. It also shows the importance of waiting on God to do what He does and not interfere. If we do, He’ll back off and let the cards fall where they may.
Myles ended up reconciling with his ex-fiancé and struggling to find happiness again. He was too concerned with the outer appearance and physical aspects of a relationship to see him and Melody were not compatible. Instead, his focus should have been on his partner’s relationship with God. The lesson learned here: no matter how bad it may seem a marriage is forever and if a spouse wants to remain in the marriage it is up to both parties to make it work. You can’t decide that you want out after you’ve gotten married and finally see that the other person is not the one for you. Pay attention in the beginning to all of the small details.Shay thought she found what she was looking for on the website; someone better than her long-term partner Norm, who had a job, and who was super romantic. Everything Norm wasn’t. After kicking Norm out of their home, she made some life changes regarding her health and even lost weight. However, she soon learned how much Norm really meant to her family, mainly because the kids prayed for their dad to come back home. On top of that, her internet love turned out to be a sham, therefore, left with no one to call her boo while on the saved and single cruise Shay found God.Tiffany, ironically enough, connected with her love while on the saved and single cruise; despite the fact that she did not want to take part in the internet dating site. After what seemed like one failed attempt at love, Tiffany was ready to make herself known to her destiny. What at first seemed like a cat and mouse chase without a happy ending; persistence, patience, and forgiveness soon rendered Tiffany as the winner in the story. She held on and waited for God to do what He said He will do.
Overall, this book taught me that sometimes you have to take a chance on love, however, if those steps are not ordered by God don’t continue to pursue it. Patience is truly a virtue, and often time’s real love is already staring you right in the face. It shouldn’t take a website or misconstrued perceptions about individuals and his or her profiles to teach us these lessons.I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and it left me wanting to know more about what happens between Deborah and her bisexual husband. How she deals with his issues and whether or not she is willing to look past his faults and see his need. If Myles will eventually love his wife the way he once loved her before she left him standing at the altar, if Shay is finally happy with her happy ending and new found love for Christ, and if Tiffany can say that it (the wait) was worth it all.
Nicole Duff
Proverbs 31 gives this book 4 stars.
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