She's All That... and More

I don't really remember the details of the first time I met her. I'm pretty sure it was after a soccer match and she had told me "nice game" as I passed her in the hallway. I muttered a "thanks", but I didn't really want to be seen talking to her. After all, I was the star player, likely MVP, and probably playing college ball somewhere if I didn't get injured. She was a tiny little thing; bespectacled and dressed in clothes that definitely weren't in style and hid the figure she probably didn't have. Still, she always said something nice to me when I saw her. I almost felt bad for her, it was like she had a crush on me or something, but she really wasn't my type. Honestly, I didn't think I'd hear the end of it from my friends if I actually got caught talking to her.

Then came "The Game". Yeah, we were poised to move into the state championship match and full of confidence as we were up against a team we'd beaten soundly earlier in the year. Not only did we lose, but I put the ball in my own net as time was set to expire, giving our opponents the victory instead of going to overtime. Overnight, people crossed to the other side of the hallway, my girlfriend broke up with me, and I was suddenly a nobody. Even my teammates avoided me. Yet, when I passed her in the hallway, she tried to encourage me by reminding me that it wasn't my fault. It didn't really help, but I kind of appreciated that she tried.

As my former friends began to isolate me more and more, I found that I actually looked forward to seeing her. People started making fun of me, but I'd make a point to smile at her, knowing she'd always say something nice when she saw me. When prom approached, not only was Prom King out of the question for me, I couldn't even find a date. I'd asked a lot of girls and gotten a few dirty looks and a whole lot of laughs. I was sitting behind the stands at the soccer field feeling completely useless when she appeared. I didn't even think she knew there was a field much less how to get to it, but there she was. I looked around to make sure no one else could see us before finally greeting her.

She gently took my hand in hers and said something I'll never forget. "I know you're hurting, but I want you to know that I still think you're fantastic." Then she let it go and started to leave. I called out for her to wait and ran over to her. The words were out of my mouth before I knew what I was saying - "How would you like to go to prom with me?" Her face lit up, and suddenly, there was a beauty in her eyes that I had never noticed before. "Of course! I'd love to go with you!" I think she might have even giggled a little bit.

As the day approached, I began to get nervous. The harassment I'd been subjected to so far would be nothing compared to me walking into to prom with her. I thought about faking sick to get out of going, but I couldn't make myself do it. I finally told myself to suck it up and do it. She deserved that much for being so nice to me after everyone else turned. So I rented a tux. I went for the cheapest one I could find. After all, this wasn't going anywhere and I didn't really want to get her hopes up by going all out.

I went to the address that she gave me to pick her up. I didn't really know what to expect... a trailer maybe? You can imagine my surprise when I had to be screened by a security guard before the gates opened and allowed me into the driveway of her parents' mansion. Mansion might not be a good enough description. Estate? Manor? Chateau? They all seem too tame for her home. Now I was thoroughly sweating. What would her parents think of me? They'd surely see right through my lack of effort for their daughter.

The butler answered the door before I could even knock on it, took my jacket, and escorted me in. I cursed in my mind - I hadn't even remembered to get a corsage. Her parents greeted me warmly and seemed so genuine. I tried to think of how I was supposed to apologize or how I could somehow make up for my indifference to their daughter, but the sincerity of their warmness to me was more than I could handle. I finally tried to explain that I shouldn't be there, that their daughter was better than I deserved, and that I should leave - I just wanted to get out of there. I started to tell them about my ex-girlfriends and what I was really like, but her Father forestalled me.

"We know everything there is to know about you. Don't ask how, but we have sources that you can not possibly imagine," her Father told me. "Then clearly you understand that I should not be out with your daughter, particularly on prom night," I protested. Her Father put his hands up, "Nonsense. She chose you and that is all there is to it. Your past is of no concern to us now that she is set on you." I think I was in the middle of a thought when she started making her way down the stairs...

Oh. My. Word.

She didn't just look good for her, she was beautiful. Beautiful in ways that words can't describe. So beautiful that a tear trickled down my eye just looking at her. No glasses, no baggy clothes. She was slender and toned. Her dress fit her form perfectly. She moved with all the grace of a professional dancer. Her smile was infectious. Her eyes were locked on mine and I couldn't look away if I'd wanted to. Suddenly the thought of saying she was too good for me wasn't just an excuse to leave, it was the truth. There was no way that such a beautiful lady should be with an arrogant scum like myself. She deserved something so much better.

She kissed her father on the cheek and hugged her mother. Her parents wished us a good evening and I wasn't sure if I could even stop shaking enough to open the door for her. The evening was perfect. I have no idea what the others thought. I couldn't even tell you who else was there that night. For me, she was the only other person in the room and I wasn't about to take my eyes away from hers.

I really didn't know what to do when I walked her back to her porch to say good night. Should I hold her hand? Can I hug her? Kiss her on the hand? The cheek? What do I even say? She took care of all of that. Even though her parents were looking through the window from the kitchen, she took my hands in hers, kissed me on the cheek, and thanked me for a wonderful evening. I couldn't take it anymore. "I didn't go all in for you though," I explained, "I could have done so much more, but you were the amazing one. You're more beautiful than I ever could have imagined and you've treated me so much better than I deserve. I should be thanking you."

She smiled and told me she'd see me at school on Monday. As she went inside, I waved and said goodnight to her and her parents. I'd made myself a promise that if this wasn't a dream, I'd ask her out on Monday as soon as I saw her. I tried my hardest to stay awake, reliving every moment of the night. I was afraid that if I went to sleep, I'd wake up to find it had all been a dream... a wonderful dream, but just a dream.

Monday, no one really said much to me. Well, maybe they did, I don't really know. I was focused on this tiny little bespectacled young lady wearing clothes that were definitely not in style. When I finally saw her at the end of the hall, I sort of broke into a run and tripped over someone's backpack. As laughter fell all around me, a gentle hand reached out to mine and I saw the kindness and beauty in her eyes again. Even though the others saw the same girl that had been in the hallway last week, I had seen her true beauty and there was no way a pair of glasses and baggy clothes could make me forget.

Before I could even say "thanks", it was like she had read all the insecurities in my mind. "I know you haven't always noticed me, but I've noticed you. I've been at all of your games and practices, even if you weren't looking to see if I was there. I know I'm different from all your other girlfriends. I know that other people make fun of you for talking to me. I know you only asked me to prom as a reaction and didn't really want to go at first. I know that it was only after you saw my house and how I looked all dressed up that you were really attracted to me. It's okay. Even if you hadn't asked me to prom or were trying to figure out how to ask me out now, I'd still be there in the shadows, whispering encouragement to you on the way by, and hoping you would notice me."

My jaw dropped and for the second time, tears filled my eyes, this time out of guilt. I wanted to crawl in a hole and die. Was I really that transparent?

"The answer is yes, by the way," she said. Before I could even process what she was referring to, she clarified, "Yes, I want to go out with you and I want to be around your friends and family." I shook my head in disbelief of what I was hearing. It was more than I could have possibly hoped for, yet there she was, speaking every word of it. "Oh, and Dad, yeah, you can call Him Dad, says that our home is yours as well and that He expects you over for family dinner." Most people might have been a bit freaked out by that, but I actually found it comforting. It was like I was being adopted and even though I had been an arrogant, self-centered jerk that had never once treated a girl the way she deserved, it was the simple choice of the lady before me that had made me accepted by her Father.

That's when the most terrifying and wonderful thing happened. She looked at me with a tear threatening to fall from her eye and said, "I know that hearing me say "I love you" will never be enough, and there will come a day when you take me for granted. I will still extend my love to you. There will be a day when you will turn away from me, but I will still extend my love for you. There will come a time when someone looks more attractive to you despite my best efforts to show you my beauty, but I will still extend my love for you. There will be a day when you choose her over me and stay with her until you have had long enough to realize how much I mean to you, and during that time, I will still extend my love to you and I will accept you with open arms and no questions when you return. You will betray me with your words and your actions, but I will extend my love for you anyway. You will cause me to suffer greatly, but I will extend my love for you anyway."

I wanted to protest against her accusations, but something told me she was right. What kind of love was this? Who would choose to love this way? Who would choose a liar and a cheater with open arms? Who could possibly give all of herself in love to someone that barely noticed her then and will surely stray later? Who would understand the pain of betrayal and choose to bear it anyway? How could a lady so perfect choose to be with someone like me?

It defies all logic. It defies the way I learned that things work. It's not normal. No matter how many times I admit my fear that her promises aren't true, doubt she can really love someone like me, and am caught up by someone or something that promises to be better but never is, she reassures and comforts me. I can be completely open with her and she doesn't reject me for my past. She doesn't reject me for my thoughts I know I ought not to have. She doesn't reject me when I stumble and fall.

She is patient, gentle, and kind. She does not boast in the knowledge that she is greater than me nor seek someone else over me. She is humble; not arrogant or rude. She does not insist on getting her own way, but always gives me the choice. She does not resent the freedom she offers me and does not become irritated by my failures to love her the way she loves me. She always speaks truth and lights up when I learn it or apply it. She gladly bears the burden of my past without complaint or using it against me, she believes the best in me always, she has true hope that I will choose her over the temptations that others offer ,and endures with grace my seasons of trouble. Her love is in every way perfect, and though I may wonder how and when it will end, she is faithful in every way to continue to extend it with no hint of ceasing.


Epilogue:

For most of you, you already see the allegory to Christ's love for us here. Some of you may be thinking that I managed to find the perfect girl, or that you want to know if she has a brother. The fact is that I have found a perfect love. Perhaps more appropriately, I have been pursued by One who has a perfect love.

If you have an authentic relationship with Christ, this story should resonate within you. If you have been faking it, you're probably telling yourself something like, "I don't know where he gets all that from, I'm certainly not loved that way." If you have no desire to have a relationship with Christ or don't know even where to begin, I probably made Him sound like a creepy stalker.

If I could somehow open your eyes to see the world the way Christ has graciously allowed me to begin to, you'd see Him throughout the course of your day, everywhere you go. You'd hear Him whisper to you the encouragement you need to hear.

And when you finally say, "Yes, Lord, I want You in my life", it's a game changer like you've never before considered. Your struggles will become more real than you ever imagined, but His love will be extended in way you never thought possible. You will begin to recognize the arrogance and selfishness in yourself, and though you are ashamed, you will crave His presence and His unfailing love. You will learn that when you run to Him, you are always accepted with open arms, even when you trip along the way. You will experience the love that all of us "Jesus Freaks" can't shut up about.

Make no mistake though: you must choose Him. He will pursue you until death, but He will not force you to take Him. If this inspires questions, I've got answers. Ask. If I don't know the answer, there are some phenomenal people around me that do. We want you to experience the love and the life change that goes along with it. If you don't want to ask some strange guy that posts some almost entertaining and sometimes thought provoking writing online, look around for a church, group, or individual that is excited about Jesus, ask those questions, and hold on for the ride. It's going to be a party like you and I have never experienced, but none of us can do it on our own!