Previous Challenge Entry (Level 2 – Intermediate)
Topic: Pros and Cons (08/14/14)
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TITLE: The List | Previous Challenge Entry
By Darleen Coon
08/21/14 -
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Quickly she stood and took the offered book.
He held out his hand to shake hers. “Hi, I’m Luke Lipton. I’m new. Worship was great don’t you think?”
She stammered. “Yeah, um, I’m Becca. Nice to meet you.”
“I came with Mandy and Steve, do you know them?” He pointed toward the couple.
“Actually, Mandy and I are good friends.” She looked over his shoulder to find Mandy and Steve strolling over to join them.
Mandy linked her arm with Becca. “Hey, girl, wanna go to lunch with us? I’m in the mood for Italian, so I’m thinking Santino’s. What do you say?”
She grimaced. “Sorry. I gotta get home. The dogs are probably anxious to go out.”
“Alright, you can be excused this time. But, you really have to come to Bible study Wednesday night. Luke’s picking us up, but I’m sure he wouldn’t mind swinging by for you.” She glanced over at Luke and raised her eyebrows.
Before he could agree with Mandy, Becca interrupted. “Let me think about it, okay? I’ll call you Wednesday afternoon and let you know how my week is going.”
Abruptly, she turned on her heel and made a speedy exit.
Once at home, she took care of her dogs, than sat down at her desk with a blank piece of paper. She picked up her pen, and wrote on the right side of the page ‘good’ and on the left side ‘bad’.
She started with the obvious things she’d seen and wrote them under the good side. 1) Dreamy eyes. 2) Great body. 3) Goes to church.
Then she opened her laptop, went to the Google search engine, and typed in Luke Lipton. A whole page of websites came up. “Hmm, apparently he’s an ex-professional ball player who got into trouble with the law for drug possession. He did rehab after spending a couple of months in jail. He didn’t go back to ball, so I wonder what he’s been doing since then. Anyway, all of those things are bad, bad and bad.” She picked up her pen and marked them down on the left side of her page.
Just then the phone rang. “Hello?” She answered absently, still looking at her list.
“Please tell me you’re not working on ‘the list’.” Mandy demanded.
She giggled. “Aw, Mandy, you know me too well. What if I am?”
“Actually, I think it’s awful. Why can’t you just pray and ask God to show you whether or not you should pursue a relationship or not? Why do you have to analyze every little thing about the guy? You know, by doing your list, you’ve never had a man measure up to your standards.” Mandy pointed out.
She took a breath and continued ranting. “Just who do you think you are? Santa Claus? Making your naughty and nice list? I guess I should be grateful you didn’t do your list before you became my friend.”
The silence on the other end of the line spoke volumes.
“Oh my goodness, you did ‘the list’ on me? I can’t believe you!” Mandy shrieked.
Cheerfully, Becca reassured her. “The good news is, you’re awesome, so it was a no brainer to become friends with you.”
“Gee, thanks.” Mandy responded dryly. “But think of all the people who didn’t make the cut. The ones you chose not to become friends with.”
“So, you think I should be friends with this ex-ball player, ex-convict, ex-druggie guy?” Becca questioned.
Mandy sighed. “Luke’s a Christian. He’s put that all behind him. He just moved here to take a job as a gym teacher and baseball coach. He’s a really great guy.”
She hung up the phone, looked down at her list, crumbled it and threw it in the trash. “Lord, thank you for dying on the cross for my sins and wiping my slate clean. Help me not to be so judgmental of others and to realize that you’ve offered that same gift to them. Give me a discerning heart and lead me in all my friendships."
Immediately, a sense of peace enveloped her.
She picked up her cell phone and typed a text to Mandy. “God’s giving me the green light. Have Luke pick me up Wednesday night.”
A smiley face was her response.
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God bless~
Thank for sharing.
God bless~