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| Trying to upload a pic for a message board. You can disregard this entry if you want. I don't care.
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| Hey, everyone. Yesterday was an amazing day. I met with Aaron outside
his house bright and early, as we had agreed on the previous night. We
just got back in the car when I realized I completely forgot to bring
the CDs I was going to let him copy. I apologized, and asked if he
didn't mind the fact that I'd have to drive all the way back home and
pick up the CDs there. Aaron was very game, and didn't mind it at all.
He was also able to see my dog Xena and my sister again for a moment.
Once
I got the CDs, we headed back to the car and set out for one of the
malls. I had asked a few days before if we could stop by Build-a-Bear
(thanks, Ashley ;)). Aaron was ok with it so we arrived at the mall
only 10 minutes before all the shops opened. We were able to locate an
ATM machine (thankfully Aaron didn't have to pay a service fee) and
headed back to Build-a-Bear. After getting instructions on how to get
the whole thing put together, we decided on a honey bear and had Aaron
record a special message for me. So now, if you squeeze its left paw,
it will say loud and clear "I love you, my little tomboy."
Next
we had it stuffed. The girl then directed us to fluff it out (which it
didn't really need) and then we worked together to put the full Navy
outfit on the bear. The only thing that bothered me was this: Since
when does a teddy bear have undergarments??? Needless to say, we
quickly dressed the bear and headed over to the computer to print out
the birth certificate. After thinking over name choices for a few
minutes, we decided to name it Zidane, after Aaron's favorite Final
Fantasy character. It was fitting.
We walked around the mall a
bit more, then we decided it was time for lunch and went to Ruby's.
Aaron teased me about how I ordered my sandwich. He's ok with my
decision to become a vegetarian again. What he did tease me about was
that I asked for the tomatoes to be removed but left the salsa in. I
explained that salsa and bruschetta were the only exceptions to me
eating a raw tomato. Anything else and I have it removed. I even added
I can't stand seeing someone else biting into it.
After lunch, I
asked if he'd like to see a movie, seeing I had a voucher as a present
from my aunt. We quickly dismissed that and headed back to his house,
seeing no movie interested us plus we were expecting a storm coming in.
We talked some, and then I suggested we watch one of the DVDs in the
den. After looking at the available selections, we snugged together on
the couch and watched Eight Below. Huskies are one of my favorite dog
breeds, so I was really pulled into the second half of the movie.
The
movie was nearly finished when Aaron's father came home. He's polite
and courteous, but I've still not reached the level of closeness with
him as with Aaron's mom. He doesn't scare me, but it is a bit of a
challenge to find something to talk about that we both can relate to.
Anyway, he let me stay for dinner. Aaron whipped up some spaghetti
(more like pasta puttanesca, like from A Series of Unfortunate Events)
and later on we talked some more in his room.
Then, I had to
leave. Not only was getting late, but the rain kicked in (since shortly
after our return from the mall) and he wanted me to get home safe. We
talked about when I'm picking him up for church (yay!) and he agreed to
stick around for lunch and anything we do later. I might have to take
him back home before the evening service, but I don't mind. At least
we'll be able to attend church together.
Last but not least, he
said it's all right with him if I accompany him and the family up to
the security check in the airport the day he's supposed to return to
Virginia. He understand why I requested it. I was unable to welcome him
back here; at least I'll have the chance to say good-bye. | | |
| Well, Saturday afternoon I finally got to spend time with Aaron and his
family in their house. Most of the time was spent talking with him and
going over things we remembered, the pain and difficulties involved
with breaking up, and so on. At one point, Aaron realized there was
more I wanted to say but was holding it in. He gently encouraged me to
just get it out and hugged me. I took a deep breath and told him I
loved him, even during the times when I wanted to forget everything.
Then he surprised me. He asked how I felt about maintaining a
long-distance relationship. Note that this surprised me 'cause I had
long considered this possibility. Knowing that he was thinking it over
as well made me smile. Anyway, I told him it was bound to have
difficulties (which we both experienced for one year already) but I
knew the Lord was behind everything.
Later on, we exchanged
belated Christmas gifts and watched a DVD I gave him. It was an amazing
experience for me. All the way up to his house as I drove, I had an
uneasy feeling in my stomach and was afraid things would turn out ugly.
As we sat there watching the DVD, with Aaron holding my hand and having
his other arm around me, well, it had God's answers all over it :)
So
now, please keep us in prayer for the days to come. Aaron has also told
me he still loves me and he's willing to work through a long-distance
relationship. He did stress that communication and trust were what he
needed the most to make it work. I know plenty of friends who frown on
long-distance relationships and say they're always doomed to fail.
Maybe so. But not when God's the one backing you up ;). | | |
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Just something I've been meditating on. Several times in the Gospels,
Jesus tells the people that they should come to Him as a little child.
I used to wonder what that phrase meant. But then I started thinking
"He meant AS a child, a comparison. Jesus did not say to BECOME a
child."
So
what then did it mean to become as a child? Well, maybe we should step
back and see how children are like in general. I've compiled a list of
a few things that came to me in regards to how a child is compared to
an adult, in light of what Jesus was teaching.
1. Innocent--A
child usually has no ideas or presuppositions of what the outside world
is like. That doesn't necessarily mean that the child is ignorant of
the world. He or she may very well have some knowledge of what the
world is like, but because of age and lack of experience does not have
his or her own personal opinion of the world.
2. Submissive--A
child does what he or she is instructed to do and does his or her best
to follow those instructions. The child also tries hard to avoid
performing behaviors that lie outside a given set of rules.
3.
Has an assurance of safety--Whenever the child is afraid, there is
usually a sense of safety that Mommy and Daddy won't let anything bad
happen in that situation. Children also usually look up to their
fathers as a hero that fights off the bad guys. Whenever things look
bad, Daddy can solve them because he's strong and in control.
4.
Has no reservations--This goes along the lines of both innocence and
submission. When Daddy asks the child to do something, they usually
don't question the why of it or have their own ideas of what he is
saying. It's simply "because Daddy said so and he's the one in charge".
Looking through this list, I can now understand better what
Jesus was talking about. The last item really struck home. As adults,
we usually respond in a reserved manner when someone or even the Lord
asks us to do something. We may question why, or ask what the end
result may be, or even challenge the authority of the one who has made
that request. Not usually so with a child. When asked to do something,
they generally get down to doing it almost as soon as the request is
given.
So the way I see it, when Jesus was using the phrase
"like a little child", He was referring to trusting Him wholeheartedly
with the innocence of a young one and knowing everything is under His
control and not holding back. | | |
| Hi. This is probably going to be a long post, but please bear with me.
To sum up a long story, I met a guy named Aaron over 4 years ago back
when I was a sophomore in college. At the time he wasn't a Christian,
but through the Lord's leading he became the first person I helped lead
to Christ, and my first boyfriend.
Suffice to say, our relationship wasn't perfect and nearly tore us
apart while we were together. I know now that we had to break up (3
years ago as of this upcoming December) so that we could mature and
truly become adults.
During that time, I decided I wouldn't speak to him anymore, unless it
had the Lord's leading in it. I also went through a time of hurt,
anger, and fear. Not too long after last Thanksgiving the strangest
thing happened. I received a "friend has tagged you" email with Aaron's
name as the sender. Seeing this was the second time (I had deleted the
first almost as soon as I received it) this particular email made its
way into my inbox, I decided to find out what was the reason behind it.
I re-added (seeing he was removed after the breakup) Aaron to my IM
list, and surprisingly, he was online. We chatted a bit, where I found out that the email was a glitch, then I
confessed that during my time of healing, I became afraid that
everything about him was a lie, especially his salvation. To my joy, he
told me that his acceptance of Christ was the real thing.
During that conversation I also found out that Aaron was and is still
in the Navy. Fast forward a bit now to last December. While at work one
day, I had a strange urge to call him up (seeing we talked a bit on the
phone after the IM conversation). At first I ignored it, seeing I had
planned to catch him on the weekend, but it came back. Finally I
called, and the phone was passed to him. Aaron told me he was glad I
called when I did, because he was leaving to return to the Navy that
night.
I did manage to see him and say good-bye. Once I saw him and looked
into his eyes, I knew the Lord had answered my prayers about him and
that Aaron was telling me the truth during that IM conversation. God
had taken care of him all those years.
Which brings to now. I've realized (since the next morning after he
left) that I've always loved Aaron, even when I tried to forget about
him and for a short time stopped thinking about him. It's tempting to
tell him over the phone or through a text message how I feel, but at
the same time I feel it's better (and a wiser plan) for me to wait
until he comes home during Christmas break and tell him in person.
So, I'd appreciate your prayers in all of this, for me and for him. I
go through times during each week where it just hurts so bad.I nearly
ruined our relationship in the past by stepping in and, as I put it,
trying to do God's job. Also (and please don't call this dumb) I've
been asking Him to let Aaron know how much I love and care about him. I
want to tell him what's on my heart, but at the same time I don't want
to frighten him. If nothing else, I want to be able to walk away with
the knowledge that he knows how I feel.
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