Christians in a transient culture

In my personal experience, most "Christians" who scream, "don't conform to the world's culture" don't mean it. What they REALLY mean is, "make sure you're conforming to the culture of days gone by, regardless of the wrongs it contained."
Where is the discernment? Are we content to look at past cultures through rose-colored glasses and always be a generation removed from the current culture that surrounds us?
What benefit is that? Is all the church stands for merely a throwback culture; a place people sick of dealing with trends and fashion waves can go and make themselves feel better because they now have a "moral" reason to not follow what's going on in the world around them?
Such an attitude won't last. Eventually, people will wake up. Eventually, they'll realize they don't need a moral reason to not conform to the prevailing social trends. They'll realize that they only need to have a different preference and enough backbone to stand out because they want to.
Such an attitude is happening today.
Such a wake-up call is making pastors sound like fools and Christians who hold to yesterday's trends and cry that it's "for moral reasons" look like idiots.
Why? Because it wasn't too long ago that anything below a woman's neckline was too much skin to show. Because now the same church that said a piano was of the devil, only fit for bars and pleasure halls is screaming that a church without a piano is sinful.
Because the church has set its foundation on a base that is as transient as the next social revolution, not the truths of Scripture.
You can cry, "thou shalt be modest," "thou shalt be above reproach," but any thinking individual will look at you and say, "that two-piece suit was grossly immodest a few generations back, and in twenty years, my jeans and turtleneck will look just as over dressed as you," and walk away; justifiably so.
The church is holding people to a standard that is changing, and yet preaches that we serve a God who never changes.
Such a double-standard will not win a generation that can think.
So are we to do away with standards? No. But we must make sure our standards are not transient. Rather than concern ourselves with whether a modest neckline is four finger widths below the collarbone or a span, maybe we should set standards that are more immutable. If I journey to the jungles of Africa where the women typically run around topless, suddenly my five-finger width below the neckline standard is grossly over-the top.
What is the solution? Admit we're wrong. Admit that not every "standard" is absolute. Yes, God does give us standards that are absolute. But there are some things, like what is modest, that He left to our disgression. If He wanted to give us standards for modesty, He could have easily given us the pattern for the garments He made Adam and Eve after the Fall.
He didn't.
In His Wisdom, He left some things undefined. Why He did so is a subject we can debate from now until eternity, but there is no point to it. We might as well debate how many angels fit on a pinhead for all the good it will do.
He did define this: "I Am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No man comes to the Father but by me." That coming gives us plenty to work on without worrying about such transient things as culture.

The Reason behind the Seasons

"For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-all things were created through him and for him." (Colossians 1:16)

"And God said, 'Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years'"
(Genesis 1:14)

I'm posting this, and just saying, before anybody else starts sending requests for me to "keep Christ in Christmas," and refuse to acknowledge "Happy Holidays" or "Merry Solstice," I'm not going to.

My God is greater than such petty drivel because He's always been there. Before Bethlehem, He was the reason for the season before time began.
The pagans are right. Christmas was originally a Solstice celebration. No honest examination of history can say otherwise. Solstice celebrations were taking place before the Birth of Christ.

However, it doesn't stop there.

Christ, as the self-existent, eternal Creator God, is the reason for the Solstice. He made it.
It's right there in Genesis 1, He made the stars "for signs, seasons, and years." That means the Solstice, an astronomical event marking the passage of time, the passing of a season, is His design. He built it into nature; He put it there for us to observe and celebrate if we chose.
Throughout Scripture we see this thread,
"the earth is the LORD's and the fullness thereof, the world and they that dwell therein" (Psalm 24:1.)

It doesn't matter if you're saying, "Merry Christmas," or "Happy Solstice." God was behind it. He made it. He's still the reason behind the season. He created  the Solstices, and He, not some pagan, set the Solstices and the phases of the moon aside to mark events, the passage of time.
How we as Christians choose to celebrate these events is crucial. We can acknowledge Christ as the reason behind them all, the Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer of all, or we can ignore His handiwork.
The world is going to celebrate without us. They are going to have feasts, light menorahs, acknowledge the passing of His solstice with or without us.
We have simple choices. We can ignore it, not celebrate, and by our silence keep the truth of the Creator to ourselves. We can pick petty fights over whether we call the Season Christmas, Hanukkah, or the Solstice, as if Christ were only the reason for the season for the Christ Mass, a Catholic holiday celebrating the Virgin Birth, and not the fact  that He made the Solstice; He was behind it. He also led the Maccabees; He was behind preserving His people. He made this world, and as the Great Giver, the One who gave the ultimate gift of Himself is behind the gifts and the presents.
He's behind it all, regardless of the name you give the Season, He is there, standing boldly, the Creator, the Giver of Salvation, the Preserver of His People, Jesu the Messiah. 

I can no more force my fellow man to acknowledge Christ in the season by insisting on calling it "Christ mass" than I can force them to believe in His redemptive work.
We would do well to take a page from the early church. Point people back to the Creator, not shove Him down their throats.
Next time someone says "Happy Holidays," or "Happy Haunukkah," remember, what God blessed the Maccabes' Revolt and miraculously kept the menorah lit? What Creator made the solstice? Yahweh.
All things were made by Him. He is the reason for the Solstice, He preserved the Nation of Israel; He's the Reason for Haunukkah. When the fullness of time was come, God sent forth His Son; He's the reason for the Virgin Birth. (And really, whether Christ was born on Christmas day or not is a mute point. We don't celebrate Washington's birthday on His birthday, either.)
No matter how you spin it, He's the reason. Stop nitpicking over names. He's behind them all.
EDIT: For those that want a more detailed look at what the Scripture says about Christmas: link

Today sucks. Tomorrow will be better.

Any attempt to promote yourself as a "Christian" environment; meaning a wholesome, safe, secure place is doomed to fail. This is because a "Christian" isn't someone who never does wrong. You are starting on a false premise.
A "Christian" is someone who does wrong, but accepts God's forgiveness and trusts in God's grace to give him the ability to do right.
A Christian environment isn't free of wrongdoing. A Christian environment openly admits that wrong has been done, and lovingly enables the wrongdoer to not do wrong again. A theif isn't beaten down and told "go find a job, don't steal." A theif is told, "hey, here's a job we need done that your talents fit. Work for us and we'll pay you a decent wage."
An environment that tries to label itself Christian, but hide wrongdoing from the public eye is going to fail. Not only is it going to fail, it will do more to mar the name Christian than if it just admitted they weren't perfect in the first place. Not admitting you're a sinner is just as much a slight to Christ as saying, "yeah, I'm a Christian, but I'm going to sin anyway."
The gospel is keyed to, "while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Anyone that's been through the Romans' Road knows the first "step" to Salvation is admitting you're a sinner in need of God's grace.
And anyone that's been an honest Christian knows that accepting God's grace doesn't immediately transform you, or any other Christian, into a sinless person.
To try and hide the fact that Christians are sinners from the world is to lie to the world about who Christians are, and lie about the real need for Christ.
We should strive for honesty with those around us. Because honesty is more powerful than a polished front.
I know, it's very utopian of me. But you know what, dreaming and striving for a better world can't be all that bad. I don't expect it to happen in my lifetime. But I do think my life can make a difference. Not just by living for today, but by living so I'll make a difference sixty years from today. By living for a brighter future. Because I know it will someday happen, He promised me it will. And I believe Him.

True Science

Washington Post
The problem with what Bill Nye is saying is, I personally know many PhD's that  found scientific conflicts in the scientific data on assertive statements like, “The Earth is not 6,000 or 10,000 years old,”  and they changed their scientific stances accordingly.
It wasn't religion that changed their mind, at least initially. It was when they found that the thories put forth by Creationists better fit the data they saw that they came to faith.
If you want to start with the science, please do, but do so honestly. If the "facts" so strongly supported evolution, you wouldn't have a (rising) near majority of the population disbelieving that the "facts" presented to them in the classroom are true. Especially when, not a generation ago, that percentage of disbelief was much smaller.
If you truly believe in science, in facts, truth will out. I know many Creation scientists, including my father, who are more than willing to let the facts fall where they may, as long as you don't supress the other side of the scientific coin.
It's a viewpoint based on science whether the earth is 10 thousand or 10 billion years old. If the facts speak as strongly as Nye is saying, then truth will out. If the facts aren't so strong, then causing these young minds to question the status quo is probably a good thing and may lead to many scientific advancements.
I always find it interesting that questioning the status quo is alright as long as it only leads to a viewpoint that the speaker agrees with. If it doesn't, it's dangerous and shouldn't be tried. Then again, my own questioning of the status quo in Christianity puts me in a minority among most Christians, liberal or conservative, so I see this happening a lot on both "sides."
Anyway, back to my point.
What Bill Nye is suggesting is unscientific. Telling people to supress their theories, supress facts and knowledge, despite how well the facts may fit, simply because they don't agree with the prevailing theory is just as bad as telling people not to believe that the earth orbits the sun simply because the prevailing theory says the sun orbits earth.
Truth will out. Shut up an let freedom speak.  

Ambassadors

As a kid, I made a pledge. This was not a "purity" pledge or any of the commercial fluff that the modern Christian pop-culture has produced that effectively drives a wedge between young adults and their relationship with Christ. This was a pledge that stuck with me and has driven, sometimes unconciously, my walk with God over the years.
It was the Royal Ambassador's pledge. I'll copy it here for reference.

"As a Royal Ambassador I will do my best: to become a well-informed, responsible follower of Christ; to have a Christ-like concern for all people; to learn how to carry the message of Christ around the world; to work with others in sharing Christ; and to keep myself clean and healthy in mind and body."

That pledge came to mind today as I read a post a friend on Facebook made.
She said,

"A group of Christians showed up at a Chicago gay pride parade in July. They were holding up signs saying “I’m sorry that Christians judge you” “I’m sorry for how the churches treated you”"

This post got me to thinking. As the Royal Ambassador (RA) motto states, "We are Ambassadors for Christ." (2 Corinthians 5:20)

Remember, the job of any Ambassador is to communicate the message of his lord. If the Ambassador uses words that do not properly relay the intended message, he is failing his lord.
It doesn't matter if the recipiant is "hostile" to the lord, the Ambassador must find a way to burn through the hostility, find an area of common understanding, and relay the message in light of the common understanding. That is the definition of communication, and the duty of an Ambassador. Being an Ambassador is also a learning experience. An Ambassador learns how to better understand his lord, and how to better understand the people his lord has sent him to. The duty is a life long learning experience.
An Ambassador's duty is NOT to sit and pontificate or dictate terms. An Ambassador is a peaceful mediator.

We are Ambassadors for Christ. We are peaceful mediators. We are supposed to learn how to communicate Christ's message in a way that reflects Him, the Holy and Just God who "so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son." Not a God of hate.

Christianity, Dungeons and Dragons, and shooting your own wounded.

The Knight Shift: Gary Gygax and Christianity: Dungeons & Dragons creator was a believer
This article was informative and the supporting links very clearly back the facts. Gary's own statements from Gen Con 2007 sealed any critical doubts anyone could have.
This did surprise me that Gary claimed faith in Christ, but the supporting articles did point to some small details of the early game that I was unaware of. The spells that reflect Biblical miracles were right there in front of me and it never clicked.
It did not surprise me that Christians managed once again to shred their own. There are plenty that speak against C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien simply for dabbling in a creative fantasy world using tools given them by their Creator for His glory. Perhaps the only reason other Christians so vocally support Lewis and Tolkien is because their other works are so blatantly "Christian" that they somehow are more worthy of vindication.
I hold that Gary is equally worthy. He created a game that could have been a magnificent tool in the hands of Christians to reach others. Imagine a story-telling game where you could demonstrate moral principles in subtle ways to your players.
Sadly, Christians smashed that tool underfoot and left it unused. They left a loaded gun for the enemy to pick up and point right back at them. Nay, they picked up the gun and pointed it at their own head.

Been saying this for a good long while. Posting here for safe keeping.

Government, marriage rights, and same-sex marriage | Washington Times Communities

Dealing With Imprudence

Just venting and putting my thoughts to letters.

I try to be cordial and not cause trouble as much as I am able. However, this does not mean that I will allow myself, or my family to be walked over or treated with disrespect.
I have always been of the mind that good intentions don't amount to much in this world, and thus I give very little consideration to an individual's intentions; only their actions, the way a person comes across, and the results of a person's actions hold much weight with me.

I have very specific beliefs about what is and is not a person's business; my income and welfare being among them. Only two people in the world, as far as I am concerned, have any "right" to that information, myself being one, and my fiancée being the other. Anyone else, my family included, is only informed of such information if I or my fiancée see it appropriate. Note, Lydia and I are the only two persons who are entitled to make such a decision of appropriateness. No one else.
For anyone to press and pry into our affairs is rude, and disrespectful. A single inquiry with a polite reply is understandable, I do not expect anyone to read my mind and know my preferences on things of this nature. However, once that person has been informed that this is the state of affairs, I expect the subject to be dropped and left alone.
To continue to pry and insist you know better than me how to run my life is rude and disrespectful, and I will not sit and endure such action.
Today, I had to deal with such rudeness.
The inquiry is not the primary insult, of course. It was merely the catalyst to a larger issue.
The issue is how I and my fiancee see fit to run our lives. It is our life, and no one else's. No family member, no friend, no stranger, no aquaintence has any right to tell us how to live. It is our decision, between us and God, and no one else. No priest, no financial advisor, no culture has any authority to order or advise unless we ask for that advise.
If I desired someone's council, I would have asked for it. For an individual to insist on giving it without asking is an offence. To continue to offer it after being graciously informed the advice was unecessary, and to press the point is rude and unbecoming. Today, such nosy rudeness was pressed on me and Lydia. I responded with as much grace as I was able under the situation and left.
To say that such a prying slight was unexpected would be a lie. Thanks to the family grapevine, the poor opinions the individual in question holds were known to me. I do have ears. My fiancée communicates such matters to me, as communication is a key point to any relationship, most especially a marriage. I had hoped that prudence and standard politeness would keep this situation from manifesting. It was a small hope, but a hope nonetheless. Unfortunately, such a mercy was not bestowed on myself and Lydia.
I have dealt with such rudeness. I refuse to endure it again, unless a full apology is made and the method of behavior is ammended. Apology without repentance is no apology. It is a lie for convenience sake.
Anyway, vent over.

Love story

It's a love story.
And it's better than Hollywood, because Hollywood never had character development this deep. Hollywood never had battles for us to face like the ones we face on a daily basis. And they never will, because nothing can compare to the depth of reality.
When Lydia and I first met, we barely knew anything about each other. To me, she was the somewhat quiet, but fun girl that I knew from Boardwalk. I was the boy that brought a young man with cerebral palsy by Boardwalk and Park Place every day to hang out and walk the Mall. Parts of our story from there are kind of a sort of fairy tale, to be sure, and I love it. It gives a magical touch to our life as a couple.
The drama that surrounds you when a twenty-seven year old guy falls in love with a barely eighteen year old girl is predictable, but it bound us together and made us stronger. The details of how we finally became reacquainted, in a church that I randomly decided to visit, on a day I almost didn't go, speak to me of the magical, miraculous goodness of a Divine Being that has a plan for my life, and it doesn't always match up with everyone else's preconceived notions.

But if you've been following our story, you already know about the magic from previous blog posts. I'm not here to muse over the arcane; I'm here to talk about the mundane stuff. The stuff you'll never see in a Hollywood production or a Hallmark feature because it doesn't make good drama.
I'm talking about the patient, but difficult task of learning to fully open up and trust again after a life full of broken relationships sown with distrust. I'm talking about, not finding a sense of the miraculous in everyday stuff, but just learning to enjoy the simple things in life, like sitting on the couch with your fiancée and doing nothing.
The learning to trust part is a task that isn't completed in an emotional two-minute scene on a Hollywood soundstage where the guy finally makes the "big decision" to just let go and everything turns around from there for the rest of the climactic finish. It's something that takes time, and a patient and understanding young woman. It's gradual, bit by bit.
I'm also talking about the arduous task of maintaining a relationship over six hundred miles of land, going for what seems like eternity longing for just a simple hug, or just to close your eyes and drink in the scent of her hair, but unable to because she's just that far away. I’m speaking of spending weekends hanging out with dear friends and wishing she were there to enjoy it with you.
I'm talking about learning that there actually is a girl out there that is perfectly content to sit on Skype and play solitaire with you all night, just so that we can enjoy being together. She's not concerned over whether I always have a laundry list of things to talk about; she just wants to be around me.
I'm talking about a woman who takes time to get to know my friends, not out of a sense of obligation, not because "I like him, and I better prove it by trying to understand his friends," such an attitude isn't truly interested in the guy. No, she gets to know my friends because they can be her friends, too. They aren't just "those weirdoes he hangs out with," they are cool people that she loves and appreciates just as much as I do.

It's all the little things; working out schedules that don't mesh well so we can have time to talk, to interact. Learning to work with each other in the so-called boring, everyday stuff that quickly becomes routine. Realizing you found someone that, like you, is perfectly ok with routine, as long as routine is with you. She doesn't have to be constantly entertained; it's a relationship, not a Hollywood special.

One of my favorite authors put it like this. The enjoyment of a thing is not just in the thing itself; it's in the memory of the thing.
A person can spend all their life wishing their relationship had all the magic and fast-paced adrenaline of those first few "getting to know you" months, but that stuff wasn't meant to last. It's an adrenaline rush for a reason, and wishing for it to be constant is going to cause burnout. But the memory of the thing; that is something you can hold onto. That you can latch onto, and someday, as soon as tomorrow, look back, share your memories, and say, "we did that together. We conquered that together." And then, you will smile at your accomplishments. It might have been something as mundane as comforting each other after a hard day or as amazing as a wonderful anniversary celebration, but they were memories you made, for better or worse.
These lessons learned, this love that was strengthened in the tough, mundane times, they are what make love last. Not the magic moments; those fade too quickly. Those magic moments are but respite from the mundane times, a time of relaxation to chill and make other types of memories.
Finding a, “sense of the miraculous in everyday life,” is not about doing heroic deeds every day. It is about understanding that the little things are what make life, life, and it’s about learning to enjoy those small things; all the small things.

Time and time again, Lydia has proven to me her determination and faithfulness; her determination to make things work, to be true to her promise to stand by me. And it's those little things that strengthen my love for her. Not the gifts and the laughter, those are but the sweet rewards of her love.
The things that strengthen our relationship are mundane; they're everyday. They are the things that most people would look at us and say, "You do what? Why bother?" that remind me how amazing she is, and how perfect for each other we are. It's sitting and just keeping each other on speakerphone while each does our own thing - prepare a D&D session, read a book, play mahjong. It's browsing Facebook with Skype running in the background so we can share whatever we come across on screen. It's being with each other, just to be there, not necessarily because we're providing any grand entertainment to one another, but because we just enjoy each other's company.
To me, that's magical.
That a girl could love someone with as much baggage as I have was unthinkable. For her to actually share common interests with me was unrealistic. And for us to actually hold the same goals and simple dreams in life, well, it's definitely a one-of-a-kind combination. To top that off with the fact she enjoys being around me, even if we aren't "doing anything" is endearing beyond the words I've just typed.
It is a love story. It is our love story. And we're sticking to it.

Engagement story!

So...where to start. I'd had the ring for quite some time and Lydia knew it. This created a bit of a predicament. I wanted to surprise her. She'd always wanted an October wedding, which meant I needed to ask in enough time for her to plan, and it wasn't until this past October her dad had finally been ok with the idea. All that on top of the fact she was living 600 miles away and I only got to see her once a month/every other month gave me a narrow window to do the deed.
This left me with two options; my Christmas visit, or Valentines Day. And on top of that, I needed time to officially ask her dad's permission without her knowing. That last factor pretty much left Christmas.
I had an issue, though. Lydia is smart, and she suspected. This was going to take some planning.
As fortune had it, she wound up having to work the day after I got to Mississippi. And her dad was semi-free. So, I took advantage of the opportunity and obtained his blessing quietly. I'm still not sure if anyone was aware of our brief conversation. I had been helping Lydia's eldest brother install a game I got him for Christmas, and while we were waiting on the game to install, I slipped downstairs, cornered my future father-in-law, apologized for the informality, but explained my need for stealth. He granted his blessing and gave me a hug. Lydia came home from work and didn't suspect a thing. She did later ask if I had found a chance to ask him, but I feigned ignorance.
The actual asking was simple. She didn't want it to be extravagant or draw a lot of attention to her. Something nice and quiet was all she wanted.
I had the perfect plan. We were going to visit my extended family in Oklahoma, and on the way, there was a nice overlook with a beautiful view I planned on stopping at.
Mother nature had other plans. It was pouring rain when we got to that point in our journey. The question would have to wait.
We had a good time visiting my family. Lydia got to cause chaos with Cousin Beth, and really seemed to fit in well with everyone.
We left, and I had an issue. The overlook I had planned to use was only accessible from one side of I-40 - The West bound side.
So I had to improvise. A quick Googling showed that none of her favorite restaurants were along our route, or near any feasible alternate route, and time was running out.
So, I was evil and unromantic. I made her choose. Told her we should stop somewhere "nicer" for lunch, her pick. I had partially given up on secrecy. I kept hinting it needed to be somewhere nicer. She didn't catch on. She chose a Ci-Ci's pizza in Arkansas.
We got to lunch and filled our plates. I had the ring in my pocket, and waited for an opportune moment.
We had fun chatting, as always. We playfully picked on each other and just had fun. At one point, she lovingly informed me that I was working on getting myself into trouble.
This was it. As unromantic as it may sound, it was "us;" goofy, spontaneous, and last minute. Oh, and done right, quiet and unobtrusive, just like she wanted.
I asked her if there was anything I could do to get myself out of trouble. She told me, smile on her face, "probably not." With a deft move of my hand, I slipped the jewelry box out of my pocket and held it between us. Her face paused in that moment, and she started grinning from ear-ear and turned bright red.
I was almost at a loss for words. The realization that I had actually managed to pleasantly surprise her, I quietly asked, "Lydia, you're an amazing woman, and I love you...will you marry me?"
She started nodding, smile still radiantly stuck on her face, before she managed to quietly say, "Yes."
She slipped off the promise ring I had given her before she moved so many months ago, and I slipped the diamond onto her hand.
We just snuggled in our booth then, holding hands and talking. At one point she asked me if I had actually asked her dad for his blessing (not that it changed her answer, she just didn't realize I had done it) and we got dessert and headed out.
As soon as we got in my car, out came the cell phones, changing relationship statuses on Facebook. We then headed back to Mississippi and her family. We spent New Year's with her grandma in the southern part of the state.
I have to close with this tidbit, though. Lydia is NOT a very ego-centric girl. While she's very people-friendly, she's not one to flaunt herself. So I have to tease her. We were at a bookstore near her house a day after she got engaged. We were checking out, and the cashier asked Lydia if she'd had a good Christmas. Without pause, Lydi replied, "Oh yes," and almost shoved her left hand in the poor girl's face. I was totally shocked; so was Lydia when she realized what she'd done, and we both shared a good laugh.
Anyway, that's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

M'Lenae

I wrote my previous post almost a year ago now. A lot has happened in that time. A lot of good, some shadows, but the end result is going to be amazing and I can only thank God for hearing this poor man's cry.
The Sunday after I wrote that post, I'd stayed up late. Didn't plan on going to church the following morning. Nowhere in the radius of my meager gas budget seemed worth my time.
God had other plans.
What I say next may sound crazy, or supersticious, but regardless of opinion, it happened. To me.
I woke up early the next morning. It was like God was telling me to get my butt out of bed & go to church.
I felt strangely rested, despite having been up til 3 or 4 am. I didn't have "I'm tired" as an excuse. I had "church" clothes clean, no excuse there.
I was grasping at straws, "God, there's nowhere worth going, I'm treated like a leper everywhere." I pleaded.
But a specific place kept coming up in my mind. A specific church, well within my gas limitations.
I had no excuse left, so I got dressed & ready. Googled service times in a last ditch effort to find any reason to stay home. No excuse there.
As I drove to this church I'd never been to, I kept telling God, "if nobody says hi to me, or makes me feel welcome, I'm not staying. I'm walking out."
I didn't know anyone there and was so fed up with "Christians" not being kind to me I really didn't feel like getting hurt again.
I arrived at the building and went inside. At first, I stood awkwardly inside the sanctuary. For a few tense minutes, I was hopeful I'd get to leave this foreign place. Then a couple of people started to talk to me. I don't remember who they were, but my initial instinct was they didn't really feel like saying hello, they just felt obligated to.
I was within a hair's breadth of walking out.
I was within a hair's breadth of missing out on the biggest and best thing that ever happened to me.
As I was talking to those ladies, a vaguely familiar face came across the sanctuary, smiling.
I had met this girl while working and hanging out at a game store I had been employed at, Boardwalk and Park Place. Her name, as she reminded me at the time, was Lydia. I'd always had fun talking with her whenever she'd stop by the store to hang out.
We got to talking, she invited me to sit with her.
She was friendly. Something I didn't expect out of any Christian. Not from my past few years' experience.
I got to know her better & better over the next few weeks, glad to finally have a friend I could talk to about anything and everything. She didn't judge the mistakes I had made, and she and I had an endless ammount of interests and similarities.
I always looked forward to chatting with "my little friend" as I thought of her. (Sorry, Lydi, I don't know if I ever told you that.. :) )
Then she threw me a curve ball. Part of me way down deep had suspected this, but I disbelieved my suspicion enough the revelation took me back.
Lydia told me she had developed feelings for me.
I was kinda pleasantly surprised, but scared spitless at the same time.
But one thing finally won out, an old piece of wisdom; "you marry your best friend."
And Lydia had swiftly become that.
I don't trust easily. Not anymore. But that sweet little angel had done more to earn my trust in a few weeks than many had done in years. And she still does.
I could go into a lot more, but I won't here.
The rest, as both Lydia and I like to call it, is, "A Love Story."
We're engaged to be married this coming October. I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with her. She's amazing. No person is perfect, I get that. But God made her perfect for me, and I'm eternally grateful.
Thank you, Lydia. You're an amazing girl, a wonderful woman, and I love you with all my heart.