Sam begrudgingly attends church with me. He was “bored” at the traditional Lutheran church I was attending. So I decided to take him to Forest Hill to see if that would catch his attention. This is an uphill battle for us because we have so many things going against us. First and strongest being that he was not raised in an environment where a God could possibly exist. My grandmother, Clara, is by far the strongest Christian I have ever experienced…and growing up going to religious schools…I have encountered quite a few. She did her best to share religion with the boys when they all lived in Orange Park, FL. It never stuck…at least with Sam. When Damon was with us he was very interested in being confirmed and building a relationship with God. I had hoped that Sam would come around in the same way. Slowly…and at God’s pace we are getting there.
At the service a few weeks ago the pastor spoke on having an internal navigation system. For some reason this short story has stuck with me. He had heard this analogy on a dating radio program. A caller called in to say that she was repeatedly having the same relationship with the same problems, challenges and ultimately the same ending. The host said to her that she should think of it this way…She had a navigational system, and her directions kept leading her to the wrong location. That she was NOT turning right or left, that she was not listening to the voice saying Rerouting. That she just kept going the same direction and expected different results.
This hit home with me on so many different levels. One from the dating aspect. YES I am single and active in the dating world. It can be so exciting and fun…but also so confusing and hard. I immediately thought…gosh I am the same as this girl. I always go down the same path…have the same ending…and somehow expect it to be different. I have read all the books, had all the discussions, and tried all the dating outlets. Yet I still know I am stuck. I have been ignoring the Voice on my navigation system. REROUTING! When it comes to bringing a man into our life…because it is both of us now…things seem more clear. Not simpler…just more clear. The direction I head, the stops and turns I make, will be based more on faith that this is the right direction.
“The righteous choose their friends carefully.” (Proverbs 12:26a NIV)
If you’re supposed to choose your friends carefully, you should be even more careful about who’s going to be your life partner. Notice it is a choice. God doesn’t do this for you. God says you make the choice.
God leads us, God guides us, and God gives us guidelines. But ultimately, it’s your choice.
(http://rickwarren.org/devotional/english/bible-choosing-a-spouse?roi=echo7-12983924771-37381798-edc886d96b98fce94e55c996c59d8282&#.U9ub8I1dVIk)
Entering a huge vulnerable statement…I was not sure I wanted kids! There I said it. It was really hard for me to be able to thinking about bringing a child in the world when there has not been a man that I wanted to share that with. I know people say…you do not need 2 parents to raise I child. I think I can now safely say…that is a true statement! But I will also say…this is hard to do alone. Not impossible…just really hard.
I love a good challenge…maybe that is obvious…but when it comes to this…I want the traditional. I want what I believe that God truly intended for us as men, women and reproduction. We are pretty magical if you really ponder it. I am not sure my navigational system is set to go this direction but right now I am ok with trusting that if I keep listening and adjusting that I will end up where I am suppose to be!
