Check Out Collette Crayton’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Collette Crayton.

Hi Collette, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Embrace Your Singleness Ministry was birthed from my past misery when I was that young, broken & bitter girl in my early 20s who thought being single was a bad thing. I always felt like I needed a man to fill a void.

After so many heartaches, one day a light bulb finally went off, where I had reached my breaking point and I was tired of being hurt and heartbroken. I realized I needed to sit myself down and deal with my pain & truly focus on healing. I was at my lowest where I would just got out of a relationship or more so a toxic situationship. I felt like I needed a new man to help me get over my ex, I just broke up with. I realized all I was doing was adding more pain to my life and not realizing I needed to heal because of my fear of being single.

I’ll never forget one of my good friends in that season set me down, and her exact words were, “Collette, you got to stop looking for a man to fill a void that only God can fill”! That hit me like a ton of bricks once I understood where she was coming from. I realized I didn’t know my worth nor love myself enough to heal and most importantly allow God to be the matchmaker of my love life.

After re-dedicating my life back to Christ and giving God my yes. I stumbled across a few Christian influencers on Twitter that really helped me in that season to understand singleness. This is when I learned singleness was a gift & a blessing from God. It wasn’t a curse like I seen it as.

Fast forward two years later after this. Anytime I would hear anyone speak bad about singleness or post something negative on social media about singleness, it would break my heart. I knew right then God was calling me to do more. I just knew I had to be the change and that voice to help singles understand why singleness is a gift & why we should embrace it more.

On November 9, 2014, sitting on my living room couch. I heard God clearly telling me to start a new Instagram account tailored for singles. God gave me the name “Embrace Your Singleness”, to encourage singles to become His best while we wait on Him during our single season. Also, to encourage and educate singles on the preparation & process that we also have work to do in our single season, and this is when the embracing part comes into play on why we should embrace single-hood.

I don’t take this calling on my life for granted, and I’m forever grateful God chose me, this “small-town girl” from Jackson’s Gap, AL, to help & pour into single women and men all over the world! I often remind myself that God never wasted my past pain because my once pain has turned into my PURPOSE!!!

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Absolutely not! I would be lying if I said yes. The struggle is real & hard for sure.

One of the hardest struggles on this journey is trusting God wholeheartedly in my own single season while pouring into others about waiting for their future spouse. While you encourage others and seeing them be blessed with their spouse and you’re not seeing God move in your own love life. This is a struggle I deal with personally & often, I question God about it. But by all means, I celebrate my fellow sis or bro when I get to witness them finding true love. I rejoice with them because I know I got next!

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Most people of my community is shocked, when I share with them I work a Corporate 9 to 5 full time job. Yet, I still show up for my ministry & brand every day! It’s not easy juggling between the two when creating content and brainstorming new ideas for my brand to keep it going and also taking care of my daily duties with my 9 to 5.

By day, I am a corporate girl, where I am employed with one of the largest retailers in home improvement, where I do case management. I wear many hats at my job. I know this may sound weird, but my full-time job pushes me out of my comfort zone for the better, and it challenges me to go harder with my brand. Both can go hand in hand. At my full-time job, I’m someone’s counselor, or their listening ear, liaison, problem solver, decision maker, project leader, helping hand, etc. All these things I listed, I get to use these skills & apply them in my ministry to help the singles and be there for them.

One thing that makes my brand stand out the most & different from others. We are authentic & transparent. Things I share or post are all my truths. I don’t sugarcoat anything. I love to keep it real & share real relative stories from my past & my now. I don’t pretend that everything is perfect because it’s not. I make it clear to my community I go through the same thing they go through and I make mistakes because I am human.

Also, I built my brand from the ground up. I never once bought a follower on any social media platforms. My ministry has thrived & flourished only by the grace of God!

Some people may not know, but I’m naturally an introvert and somewhat shy. But once I’m in my element, there’s no stopping me. That’s when the quiet storm in me comes to life!

So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
To work with me or collaborate with me on a project or by being a guest speaker at your event. You can connect with me via my Instagram embraceyoursingless OR you can email me at: embraceyoursinglenessinfo@yahoo.com

Let’s connect & do some kingdom work! I’m ready!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: embraceyoursingleness
• Facebook: Embrace Your Singleness Ministry
• Twitter: inspiredbycc_