Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: BLESSED (03/07/19)
-
TITLE: Harley and Hiking | Previous Challenge Entry
By Corinne Smelker
03/13/19 -
LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE
SEND A PRIVATE COMMENT
ADD TO MY FAVORITES
We closed our eyes, took hands and he prayed – sweet words filled with love and humility, asking the Lord to show us who the right ones were, and that we would both have immediate peace.
“Amen,” I echoed as he finished.
With trepidation I opened the first folder. A smiling couple looked up at me. “This is Jahara and Samir Philips,” I read. “They’re local…”
“Oh, that’s good,” Joe interjected before catching my eye and ruefully shaking his head., “Sorry Jess. Read on.”
“Ok. They’ve been married 17 years and — oh no, poor woman — she had breast cancer. It’s why they can’t have kids the old-fashioned way. Let’s see, what else? They’re Hindu. What do you think about that?” I asked, turning anxious eyes on Joe.
“Well, I know we both have a preference for a Christian couple, but let’s not dismiss them out of hand. Let’s put them on our ‘maybe’ pile.”
The second folder landed on the ‘not interested’ pile, as did the fourth and the fifth.
“Oh dear,” I said, “We’re over halfway through and have two in the ‘maybe’ pile. What if we’re being too picky?”
“There’s no such thing,” Joe laughed and took my hand. “Jess, come on, where’s your faith?”
“I know, I know. I just want to find the perfect couple. And know that they like us as much as I hope we’ll like them. Doesn’t this feel a bit like a blind date? It’s like Tinder, except we’re not swiping left or right, we’re putting couples in ‘discard’ piles. It feels, I don’t know, mean.”
“Hon, we can’t click with everyone, and neither can we expect everyone to click with us. These couples expressed an interest in matching with us, but we get to choose just as much as they do.” Joe rested his hand on my cheek and gave me the smile that first melted my heart. “Ready to continue?”
I took the final gulp of my coffee and nodded my assent.
Joe picked up the next file. There was nothing different about it — the agency had taken pains to ensure each file looked like the other, so that a creative couple couldn’t get the edge over a couple who couldn’t spruce theirs up.
“Right,” he said. “Here we have David and Rebecca Parker. They’ve been married 10 years, and they live just 30 minutes from us. They love hiking, so we have that in common. And… oh look… look at their photo.”
He handed it over and I could immediately see why his eyes lit up.
“They have a Harley!” I exclaimed, referencing our flat-coated retriever, a rare breed here in the heat of South Texas. “Oh my gosh! Isn’t he gorgeous? Well, I say he, it could be a girl. But what are the odds? In all the years we’ve owned Harley I’ve only met one other flattie.”
I reached over and turned the file so I could read on. “They go to a small Baptist church near them. I like that. She is a teacher and he’s an engineer. I like this. We’re around the same age and in the same professions.”
I looked over the table. “What do you think?”
“I think we found our match, sweetheart,” Joe said softly, brown eyes boring deep into mine. “Do you agree?”
I nodded my head. “I’ll call the agency and let them know we want to meet the Parkers.”
As I waited for the agency coordinator, I reflected on what brought us to this point. Infertility seemed to raise its ugly head all around us, and was brought to our doorstep when dear friends confessed their struggle to conceive and carry. They were ‘lucky’, IVF (in-vitro fertilization) worked for them the second time around. But it changed my perspective on couples becoming parents, and galvanized me into action.
I talked to a friend who’d been a gestational carrier. “Jess! You’ll love it! And I don’t know who comes out at the other end more blessed, them or you. It’s life-changing.” After that conversation I realized that no longer could I just say, “I’ll pray for you,” when I realized how many people were affected.
“Heather? Yes. We’ve made a decision…”
James 2:16 (MSG) Isn’t it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?
The opinions expressed by authors may not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.
Accept Jesus as Your Lord and Savior Right Now - CLICK HERE
JOIN US at FaithWriters for Free. Grow as a Writer and Spread the Gospel.
Blessings~