From the archives of my phone notes. September 1, 2012
I entertained a guy last night whose first comment to me was, “You’re paying for dinner. You’re wearing green. That means you’re lucky, you’re happy, you have a job, you can afford dinner. Don’t lose your job; we need it.” I was sitting outside the subway station by work trying to figure out what to do for the evening.
Me: You got all that from the color of my dress? You’re wearing black. What does that mean?
Him: I’m somber, have no imagination, and need your green to rub off on me. [I may be embellishing….]
I laughed as he went down the subway stairs. He really left my mind as quickly as he disappeared from sight. Decided to head to a movie, but it didn’t start for 45 minutes, so I called a friend I had been playing phone tag with. As we’re getting through our “it’s about time; haven’t talked to you since…” opening, the guy steps back into my line of vision and starts talking to me like he hasn’t been gone for 5-10min, and I wasn’t on the phone. He had freshened up, sort of speak… he had taken his long hair out of a ponytail and fluffed it up about his head and shoulders. He was standing over me with this cocky stance and coy grin a la Fabio on one of his swarthy-skinned romance book covers, long, dark hair blowing in the wind. Men are such peacocks… but I admit to enjoying a good display. 😉
So he’s talking about me paying for dinner, and I tell my friend on the phone to “Hold on, someone’s trying to pick me. He’s insisting I pay for dinner. I’m not paying for dinner… tonight.” I can be coy too.
My friend goes quiet. The guy continues talking. Somehow, he was lucky enough to hit on two activities I enjoy – cycling and Shakespeare in the Park. Once I was engaged, he said, “Hang up the phone.”
Me: I was talking to her first.
Him: You’re talking to me now. Hang up the phone.
There was something about that confidence that had me telling my friend, “I want to see what happens, I’ll call you back.”
I’m happy to say I’m alive and well this morning, because last night was the first time in my life I walked off with a strange man. I had a feeling I was waiting for something while sitting at that subway station. And, the something was delivered through conversation with this man.
WHAT I LEARNED THAT NIGHT
- The idle mind and heart really are playgrounds for the enemy.
- I need to be diligent in being about my Father’s business.
- Satan and his minions really are roaring about you trying to figure out how to get in and destroy you from the inside out.
- Those living in the darkness are extremely facinated with your indwelling light.
He said two things that assured me that he was aware of the grace protecting me:
We had walked across town and through Central Park. It was dark. I told him I wasn’t comfortable walking through the dark park with a man I didn’t know. He insisted, so I insisted on keeping to well-lit and well-populated paths. At the end of the walk, we were sitting in the grass near the well-lit/populated 59th St entrance, and he complained, “You weren’t walking with me. You were walking with yourself.”
He had wanted to sit in the grass to do some yoga breathing exercises. As we sat, the wind was blowing around us and picking up strength. It was comforting me and speaking to me. Up to that point, it had been a still, windless night. He said, “The wind is here for you. I’ve been in this spot many times to do yoga, and I’ve never felt the wind like this.”
His words of caution: Don’t let the dragon consume you. [He had asked me nothing about my life, and I had shared nothing about my life.] The constraints, inhibitions and conditions you place on yourself go before you and build walls where you would have relationships. All this is brutality to a man. You have no idea how strong you are, and your strength has knocked out many men.
And this folks, is getting what I came for – a message to push me to the next level. And all I had to do was literally step out of my comfort zone. God is so amazing. When He speaks, we have to be willing to hear. This man spoke a lot of junk, but I was able to grab hold of the pearls. He gave me a lot to meditate on.
Be blessed.
Harvest Life 