I awoke Sunday, the day after the date that had not started as such, in a state of utter disbelief. Did last night really happen? It seemed to good to be true. Here was this great guy who was interested in dating me and I had permission from his ex-girlfriend, who happened to be a good friend of mine, to date him. It seemed like it was meant to be. However,…

Every time I started dating someone, I jumped in with both feet and never bothered to pray about it until after the fact. Maybe I should be a little clearer on my dating history or lack thereof. In high school I dated two guys, in college I had one serious relationship and just went out once or twice with a couple of other guys, and in seminary I only had a couple of first dates (I don’t count the one guy my brother and his friends set me up with that ended up ….. well that’s another story for another time) and that’s it. As you can tell, I was not an “experienced” dater. However, even with the few young men I did go out with prayer did not enter the picture until after I had gone out with someone, if it entered the picture at all.

I was determined to do things differently this time. I’d been hurt, made my share of mistakes, and been down the wrong road enough to not want to do it the same old way again. And there was just something different about Paul. I wanted to make sure this was something God wanted for me, not just something I wanted for myself. After church I went to the botanical gardens and spent time in prayer, and I felt a great sense of peace. That’s really the best way to describe it.

I left and headed over to some friends’ house to watch the Superbowl, taking my new rightful place next to Paul on the couch…and never leaving his side. It was a done deal at this point. I was all in.