Chapter 7

Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’

Jeremiah 33:3 NIV

October 2012

David

The clock on my phone read 2:04am, as I sat befuddled on the side of my bed. The only light in the room was the greenish glow from the screen and the dark was a stark contrast to the vivid bursts of color I had just experienced in the most unexpected dream. Flashes of inexplicable scenes danced through my mind, as one image blazingly rooted itself in my consciousness. 

I had recently started working with two new clients at the gym, a teenage boy and his older sister. My clients are all dear to my heart, and I pray God’s wisdom and strategy over each one’s specific needs, but I had not thought much about these two, outside of the gym environment. Yet, in these early hours of Sunday morning, it was her face that I could not shake from my mind. 

“Surely not Father, this could not be….. “ For a myriad of glaringly obvious reasons, it had to be a mistaken result of an overactive imagination. “Right Father…?” I had almost convinced myself that this was the case as I lay back down and tried to settle in for a few more hours of sleep. 

In the morning, I got up, prepared myself and headed off to church like any other Sunday, purposefully refusing to dwell on the perplexing events from earlier. 

I enjoyed the service and cheerfully made my way to town afterwards. I needed some new socks and hadn’t had any time during the week to pick some up, so I popped into Ackermans to see what they had. 

While browsing through the limited options in the men’s section, familiar voices suddenly caught my attention. This could not possibly be happening… For a brief moment I considered theatrically ducking behind one of the shelves, to avoid detection, but thought better of it when I imagined how alarming that would look on the security cameras.

The very person I had applied every effort to not think about, was standing a few isles down, casually asking her brother’s opinion on some outfits. I could hear every word of their playful banter as I pretended not to see them and stared down at the two terrible sock choices in my hand, as if working out some complex math equation. 

Eventually, saner heads prevailed and I put the offending socks back on the shelf. Turning towards the exit, I knew there was no way to get passed them unseen, so I mustered my courage, put on my best surprised look and headed on over. I could tell they had already seen me and I tried to rally my confident ‘gym voice’ in a casual greeting, but I’m quite sure I squeaked a little, and didn’t miss the subtle flicker of confusion that flitted across her face at my uncharacteristic behavior. I mumbled something about the little white summer dress she was holding, being very pretty and that she should buy it, and then booked it out of there as fast as I could. 

My heart was beating so wildly when my feet hit the pavement and the sheer ridiculousness of the last few moments suddenly overwhelmed me as deep, rumbling belly laughs erupted from my chest.  “Alright Father, You sure have an interesting sense of humor, but I’m listening now.” 

On my way home, my step was light and I enjoyed the company of the Holy Spirit as we talked some things over. Even though I still had no idea how to go about it, I was very aware that this was not a passing fancy, but the start of something significant that would change my world forever. 

Over the next couple of weeks I kept things professional while sorting through my emotions and deciding how to approach her. I even confided in a few trusted friends and to my surprise they were very supportive and encouraged me to throw caution to the wind and ask her out for coffee.  

On the following Monday morning, she showed up for training, early and eager as ever. All through the session my chaotic inner dialogue was so loud that I lost count of the reps more than once. She definitely noticed that I was out of sorts and even asked if I was alright midway through the session. Little did she know that she was the cause of my consternation. 

We finished the workout and as she was gathering her things to leave, I reckoned it was now or never… She was already at the door when I called her name. I had trouble pronouncing her full name from the start, so I opted for the nickname her family and friends use, “Didi!”

The next few seconds were a bit of a blur, but I somehow managed to get the invitation out and though she looked momentarily confused, astonishingly agreed to meet me for coffee at the Wimpy on Saturday, before dashing off, leaving me slightly weak in the knees and gaping after her. 

She had said yes! She actually said yes… 

Now, I just had to get through the rest of the week, which suddenly seemed way too long. Thursday would be my birthday and I felt like I had already been given the greatest gift. I knew with absolute certainty, that this simple cup of coffee was an intro to the incredible love story that God had already written on my heart and it was more beautiful than I could ever imagine.