Chapter 8

 

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Corinthians 13:13 NIV 

27 October 2012

Deidre

I keep glancing at the clock on my bedside table, while staring at the contents of my open wardrobe. I’ve been doing this for the better part of twenty minutes and I was going to be late if I kept it up. Why on earth was I so nervous? It was only coffee and I’m not entirely sure that it was even a date at all. 

There was no reason to assume it was a date. The invitation had been a little out of left field and David had been acting rather peculiarly over the last couple of weeks. Perhaps he wanted to discuss something about my brother, or end our training programs and thought doing it over coffee would soften the blow. Whatever the reason, I had to get it together. I threw on my favorite pair of jeans and a white blouse, grabbed my handbag and headed for the car. 

I’ve always been a rather punctual person and as I sat at the restaurant table, already sipping the tea I’d ordered, I wondered briefly if I had been stood up, when he finally appeared in the doorway. He was twenty five minutes late and looked quite flustered as he apologized profusely. I made a joke about being on the verge of leaving and if it was at all possible the man’s face paled just a little. 

We chatted slightly awkwardly about the weather and other benign things, while waiting for our food, but the conversation soon evolved into deeper territory and the awkwardness faded away, along with the rest of the world. I was amazed at the easy flow of conversation as it slowly dawned on me that he didn’t have any motivation for being there, other than spending time with me… This was in fact a date! 

I was a rush with emotion and not entirely sure how I felt about it, but I was curious about this man that had already brought so much positive change to our lives and compelled to explore the new little flutter that had suddenly taken hold of my heart. 

The meal had long ended and the table was cleared, but neither of us made any move to leave, soaking in the moment for a while longer and enjoying the warmth of this quiet contentment that could not be understood or explained. 

As the waiter came to ask, yet again if we needed anything else, I jokingly bumped David’s arm and said something like “So what’s next?” 

“I’m going to marry you,” was not the response I had expected. I was thinking something along the lines of,   “I’ll walk you to your car,” but the words, spoken loud, clear and with absolute certainty, hung in the air and reverberated truth through my spirit like a beam of luminous light. There was no hint of humor on his face and although my flesh fueled, knee-jerk reaction was to yell that he was crazy and make a quick escape, my answer came softly and unexpectedly.

“Alright then”

We silently walked out of the restaurant together, the weight of what had just occurred, heavy between us.  Glancing at him from the corner of my eye, I noticed the biggest, most radiant smile spread across his face. I suddenly couldn’t stop the infectious grin from invading my face either. 

“I hope that wasn’t the official proposal!” I blurted out, as the tension instantly dissolved into peals of laughter. We giggled like little kids at the silliness of the last few minutes, and though he didn’t elaborate any further, I knew beyond doubt that the levity of the moment didn’t detract at all from the truth of the statement. Much later I would come to understand, why he hadn’t asked, but simply stated what God had already revealed to him. 

It may not have been a film worthy or passion filled start to the relationship, but I had spent almost all my life chasing the highs and lows of emotion driven experiences that had lead me only to disappointment and destruction. I was done chasing feelings and ready to follow the voice of Truth wherever it may lead. If He was leading me into the arms of this man, then I would follow with all my heart, fully surrendered in faith, hope and love.

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