So, besides the "career possibilities" I'm dealing with right now, I mentioned that there are two "people + associated issues" I'm also juggling. The first has to do with friendship and dating. Recently (like, for the last 2 months), a friend of mine from high school (Brian) and I have been spending a lot of time together. My family has, of course, ensued their standard taunting and teasing about this, and try as I may, I can't seem to make anyone understand where I am at this point (on the subject of dating). Sometimes I'm not even sure myself! ;-)
So I took this opportunity to re-read the book, "I Gave Dating A Chance" by Jeramy Clark. I read it once, sophomore year of college, and I took away several good things from the book. When Brian came around, I decided to give the book another look. I came out with more understanding this time than last, and that may be because this time I was looking to glean specific information on my particular situation. What I decided upon was this: Brian needs to read the book. *lol* Okay, so that's not the only thing...
The thing I've been dealing with the most when it comes to Brian is that he wants to date (me), and I don't (want to date anybody). At least that's what I had said before. Now I've modified that a little bit. The book defines a date as a "prearranged social engagement". Using that definition, it would seem that Brian and I have had several dates. Does that mean we're dating? In a sense. The book would probably label it as "casual dating". Frankly, I never quite saw the point in "casual dating". It struck me as playing around, and why not be serious about a dating relationship? I've come to realize, though, that it's not about playing around at all. It's about spending time with someone in order to get to know them better (while learning how to relate to people in a godly way). A casual dating relationship is a preparation step for a serious relationship. ...The serious relationship is the one I'm not ready for (right now). Someday God will nudge me forward and say, "Okay, time for a serious relationship," and by then He'll also have made me ready for it (partly through my casual dating experiences). ...Now, if I could just make Brian and my family understand... |