Did you know that airplanes are an exceptional place to meet men? They are. I have, on several occasions, found myself on a first date at thirty thousand feet.
As the majority of first dates go, most of my airplane "dates" have been awkward and painfully long. However, on a plane from LA to Texas a year ago, I was enjoying a pretty promising conversation with a dashing young business man.
We were about two sentences in when I saw it happen… his eyes lit up and I knew - he was going to use the remaining three hours to convince me that he was my future. It; however, took barely anytime for those plans to be thwarted.
He was an agnostic. The minute that came up, my body language changed, as did the purpose of my conversation. He noticed. "What? What's the big deal?" he asked. "So… you're a Christian? So what?" He couldn’t understand why I wouldn’t go on a date with him. "We have so much in common," he continued. And it's true… in our brief time together, we had realized that we had similar interests.
"I don't understand," he continued… "I like rock climbing - you don't like rock climbing, but that doesn't mean that you can't respect that I like it, and I can't respect that you don't. I don't see how this whole Christ thing is any different." I looked at him and said, much more kindly and delicately than I have said to men in the past:
“I know you don’t understand and that is because you don’t know my Lord. It doesn’t matter how much we like the same hobbies or eat the same food. It doesn’t matter whether we travel to the same places or have the same kinds of friends. We’re not the same. My God permeates everything I do. He’s not a hobby - He’s the love of my life. You and I could have a drink together... we could even have two and it would probably be fun. Soon; however, we are going to hit a wall and that wall is that you won’t understand why I do or don’t do, what I do or don’t do. You won’t understand the very thing that drives all the decisions I make. You won’t understand my heart because you don’t know the God that owns it. If you don’t know Him, you will never really know me. And trust me - you don’t want me without Him.”
Well with that, our date was over.
Fortunately, airplane dates come with the added benefit of being able to turn on an iPod and pick up a book, but they also come with the unfortunate issue of being stuck next to the person you've just rejected… for a few hours.
I got off that plane without him understanding. I walked away without it making sense. It's not my job to make it make sense to him. It's my job to be obedient. It's my job to follow my Lord.
A few years and several heartbreaks ago, I wouldn't have walked away. I would have enjoyed the attention. I would have soaked in the affirmation. I would have played with fire. Because see… God couldn't be an active participant in our relationship. What date is worth leaving behind the one thing, in my life, that is worth everything?? NO date. And what would I be without Him? The answer to that question makes my stomach cringe…
"Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own." 1 Corinthians 6:19
- Biblically Blonde
