Gifts Wrapped in Brown Bags
"Dating Via Fax" stirred up a lot of good comments about how I should respond to a faxed invitation for a date. (He's on a bike tour right now, so I have some time before I decide what to do.) In one of the comments, Gloria R. stressed the importance of "understanding why I don't like this guy and the need to understand why so that we could know ourselves better." And, I agree, so I'm continuing to pray for insight on this. Who knows...it may be that God wants to show me something about myself through this encounter with Mr. Fax.
As a matter of fact, this reminds me of a blind date I had with a guy awhile back. Had I gone with my initial reaction of saying no, I would have missed an important lesson about myself.
At the time, my Christian girlfriend had just married a psychiatrist. Her new husband had a single colleague, a psychologist, about whom she raved. After she finished a litany of his qualities, I asked her thee most important question, "Is he Christian?" She said "No, but he's very nice."
Like many Christians, I'm very familiar with the scripture of being equally yoked, but for some reason, I told my friend that I would pray about whether I should allow this blind connection. When I asked the Lord about this opportunity, I felt He said I was to go out with this non-Christian, but only on one date, so I did.
Amazingly, this guy took me to a restaurant ... and paid! (Felt I had to say that because I've been sequestered on dates in coffeehouses before without any meals to sustain me through the ordeal.) Anyway, this guy was very nice, attentive, a good listener and talker, but our views on everything were on opposite extremes. While I listened to his views - some of which were actually offensive to my core Christian and civil rights beliefs - I realized that my job was not to argue or change his mind. And, for me, that was a huge step because I had a long history of wrestling men verbally.
Wow! I was free from that need to overpower men with debate until I proved I was right. So, I just listened and let it all go! Truly, it was one of the best dates I've ever had because I enjoyed my new self so much. I don't even remember what the guy looked like because it was all about me and the growth the Lord showed me through this date.
You never know what unexpected gifts are in ordinary wrappings.
As a matter of fact, this reminds me of a blind date I had with a guy awhile back. Had I gone with my initial reaction of saying no, I would have missed an important lesson about myself.
At the time, my Christian girlfriend had just married a psychiatrist. Her new husband had a single colleague, a psychologist, about whom she raved. After she finished a litany of his qualities, I asked her thee most important question, "Is he Christian?" She said "No, but he's very nice."
Like many Christians, I'm very familiar with the scripture of being equally yoked, but for some reason, I told my friend that I would pray about whether I should allow this blind connection. When I asked the Lord about this opportunity, I felt He said I was to go out with this non-Christian, but only on one date, so I did.
Amazingly, this guy took me to a restaurant ... and paid! (Felt I had to say that because I've been sequestered on dates in coffeehouses before without any meals to sustain me through the ordeal.) Anyway, this guy was very nice, attentive, a good listener and talker, but our views on everything were on opposite extremes. While I listened to his views - some of which were actually offensive to my core Christian and civil rights beliefs - I realized that my job was not to argue or change his mind. And, for me, that was a huge step because I had a long history of wrestling men verbally.
Wow! I was free from that need to overpower men with debate until I proved I was right. So, I just listened and let it all go! Truly, it was one of the best dates I've ever had because I enjoyed my new self so much. I don't even remember what the guy looked like because it was all about me and the growth the Lord showed me through this date.
You never know what unexpected gifts are in ordinary wrappings.
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