A Date With God
A man who is head over heels for his girlfriend or wife will go to incredible lengths to plan what he hopes will be an unforgettable date with his beloved. He’ll marshal creativity that hasn’t been used since childhood, make detailed plans on par with a special ops mission and spend money as if nothing else mattered. He will go to all this effort with one hope in mind: that his girl will know how loved she is. He considers this goal so valuable that he is not only willing to invest all that time, money and energy, he delights to do so.
This was my mindset when I was planning to ask Kristin to marry me. I couldn’t just stop by and pop the question. No! This had to be special. I planned a special evening that included a walk on the Portland waterfront, where I happened to know the Columbia Gorge Sternwheeler would be docked, preparing for their evening dinner cruise. I made arrangements with the director and had friends deliver our tickets ahead of time. So, when Kristin and I were walking by and noticed the boat, I asked the guy taking tickets if we could come aboard to just take a quick look before they left. Aware of the plan he willingly agreed.
My idea was that they would set out to begin the cruise while we were checking out the vessel, and oops, I guess we’ll just have to go along for the ride. However, I failed to account for Kristin’s strong moral compass. When the departure whistle began to blow she made it very clear that it was not okay to stow away on a dinner cruise. While not the brightest sailor on the ship, I did recognize that my future marriage was in grave peril and quickly came out with the truth. It wasn’t easy to convince her our tickets were legit, but she eventually believed me enough to say yes to my proposal.
Thirty years later our love is deeper, but life is far more complex and I sometimes neglect to show Kristin love in the special ways I used to. I do my best to take advantage of the special opportunities that come along.
Our hope is that tonight’s Worship Night will be one such opportunity for all of us in our relationship with Jesus. We have a team of people who have prepared powerful music, inspired Scriptures, moving videos, unique lighting and other special elements for the purpose of helping us celebrate our Savior Jesus Christ. Everything is ready. All we need now is you! I hope you will come be part of the circle of praise tonight at 7pm. All ages are welcome.
Hope to see you tonight!
Pastor Toby
Categories: Evergreen Connection