If there is anything that my addiction to TV show How I Met Your Mother has taught me is that when I have teenage kids and I sit down to tell them how I met their father, they will sit for at least six years. Ha, yeah right.
"Man, when I have kids and I tell them how I met their mother. I'm gonna tell them everything, the whole damn story..."
If you have never seen the show, it follows Ted Mosby an architect in NYC and his quest for a wife, his dream girl. BUT the entire show is done in flashbacks, as if he was telling his kids how he met their mother.
On one particular rainy day here in Katowice I was walking to the bus, protected from the downpour with my yellow umbrella. I got to thinking, Ted and I have a lot in common. We have both have "career" dreams, but life has molded them into something even better than we could imagine. And really, we are both looking forward to the day when we meet our dream guy/gal.
But I realized I am living my own "How I Met Your Father" story, right now. I am at a point where I can look back on the last few years of my life and see how every decision I have made has dictated which decision I made next. Just like Ted.
"But you see kids, I could have gone to Schlegal's Bagels as usual, gone home, gotten to work, and you kids might never have been born..."
It makes me so completely grateful for every little thing; the joyous and broken. They all lead somewhere new, closer to a dream. I see how God's providence in bringing romance into my life in college led me to making a better decision about serving in ministry. How the end of that relationship led to my push to put big change into my life, pursuing a vision of using dance in youth ministry. I see how depression started to trickle back in and it led me to allowing a new friendship to bloom. And that friendship ultimately gave me to courage to act on the vision and just go for it. None of those things were changes I asked for or wanted at that time in my life. They just sort of happened. And I am better because of it.
"Kids, I've been telling you the story of how I met your mother. And though there are many things to learn from this story, this may be the biggest. The great moments of your life won't necessarily be the things you do. They'll also be the things that happen to you. Now I'm not saying you can't take action to affect the outcome of your life. You have to take action, and you will. But never forget that on any day you could step out the front door and your whole life can change forever."
Over the last few months a number of people have told me that they are going to pray for a husband for me. I always politely say thanks, but in my heart I kinda just laugh it off. My attitude has been, "well that's great if you think I need that, but I know I am right where God wants me, and that's not in the cards right now." I guess I kinda felt like it was useless to pray for that. But in the last few weeks I have been really convicted about the whole thing. Turns out it has been a pride thing...suck. In Barcelona God really broke me of my "Single Pride." I have been trying to come before Jehovah-Jirah everyday asking for a ministry partner. Its tough. Its teaching me humility. I am learning to be genuinely grateful when people say they will pray with me. I am getting up the courage to ask some key people in my life to join me in prayer over this one thing.
I don't know why praying for a life partner is such a hard thing for me. Something in my thinking got all screwed up that a husband isn't a gift from God but a distraction from what He has really called you to. Hm. I don't really know how that happened.
So here I am, learning humility in asking God to bring someone into my life to serve in ministry with. Who knows what the big finale will be to my "Single Story" but I look forward to what God has in store. In the meantime, I am gonna keep sitting on the edge of my seat to see how Ted's story ends. And just remember to humbly ask God for my dream guy. It's gonna be legen...wait for it...
"Kids, there's more than one story of how I met your mother. You know the short version, the thing with your mom's yellow umbrella...But there's a bigger story. The story of how I became who I had to become before I could meet her. And that story begins here."
How I Met Your Mother airs on CBS Mondays 8/7c or at 2am if you live in Poland like me!
Like it. Never thought of praying for a ministry partner for you. Will add that to my list for you.
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