Galatians 5:22-23 – But the fruit that the Spirit produces in a person's life is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these kinds of things. (ERV)

She was standing on the corner on a chilly February 14th, looking undecided as I came down the hill.

"I'm gonna do it!" she declared as I approached.

Yes, people talk to me on the street. When they need to talk to someone, I look harmless enough, white-headed with a walker. Every day, I ask God to lead me where He will.

"I'm goin' down to the nearest bar and get me a man!" the woman continued. "No more Valentine Days by myself!"

I sat down on my walker, folded my hands, and asked God for some words.

"Why a bar?" I said.

"There's men in 'em!" Probably at the end of her twenties, she wore a skimpy outfit.

"And that's what you want, just any man?"

She looked at me, puzzled. "Whaddya mean, 'any'?"

"I believe that God has someone picked out for each of us if we ask Him and look in the right places. Guys in bars know how to get drunk and fight and cheat on their wives."

"Well, yeah," she said, reluctantly. "Been there." Then she sighed. "My life's a real mess."

"Did you plan to say that to the bar guy? 'My life's a real mess, and I want to share it with you?'"

"Now that you put it that way…" She laughed. "So did God pick one for you?"

"I said that I'd marry the first man I found who put God first. Of course, I had to be the right person in order to find the right person."

"Okay…?"

"The one He brought had big blue eyes, kind, liked kids." I paused. "What kind of life might your kids have with a barstool guy?"

"Yeah, okay," she said. "Haven't even met him yet. Still got yours?"

"No," I said. "But we had a great fifty years. Then, God found me another."

"One after the other? You musta been livin' right?"

"Still am," I said. "You get real love when God does the choosing."

She looked down. "I know. Church, not bars. I usta go, once."

"The minister at the one over there is good to talk to." I pointed.

She looked and nodded. "But first I gotta change my outfit," she said slowly.

"The right one is worth waiting for," I said. "There's a reason that God doesn't use barstools." I held out my hand. "My name's Rose. I come up and down this hill a lot, if you want to talk again."

She said that she would, then turned around and headed back the way that she'd come.

So many of us seek love everywhere else but in the heart of God.

Prayer: Dear Father, help us to find and accept the real love that You offer Your children here on earth. Make our lives worth sharing with others as we follow Your pathways through the chaos of life. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

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About the author:

Rose DeShaw <rise370@gmail.com>
Kingston, Ontario, Canada
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