Valentine’s Disaster and the Voice of God
My wife Susan and I have been married for 26 years now. We met in high school. She was “digging me” (which is absolutely not true). We would be engaged not long after graduation and I would propose to her a few days before Christmas in a small room I was renting in Hartford, Connecticut while playing for the Hartford Whalers. I put the engagement ring in a golf bag along with new golf clubs. I gave them to her and said, “If we are going to be together for the rest of our lives you will need these and what’s inside.” Even recounting that moment just now makes me want to build a time machine, go back in time and punch 19-year-old Adam right in his face. And while he lay on the ground I would ask him, “What are you thinking, bro?” With that less than romantic past in mind, you can imagine the pressure I feel (along with most men) around Valentine’s day!
One year in particular, I thought I was going to nail it. I would be a combination of Rico Suave and the Dos Equis guy: the most interesting man in the world – “Stay thirsty my friends!”
I planned to surprise my wife at work, sweep her off her feet, wine and dine her at a fancy NYC Italian restaurant and then take her to a Broadway play. For the record, do you ever notice how things are much more romantic and smooth in your imagination than they are in real life? Selah.
Let the romantic novel begin:
I had secretly arranged for Susan’s boss to let her off work two hours early for our romantic rendezvous. I showed up with flowers in hand and a smile on my face. As she sees me from across the store, she doesn’t drop everything, run into my awaiting arms and profess her undying love for me. Instead, she makes me stand in the corner of the store for the next 15 minutes while she finishes folding articles of clothing or whatever other menial tasks seemed so important at the time. I could feel the “L” (for Loser) on my forehead increasing in size. Swing and a miss on our romantic date:
Strike ONE!
The night, however, wasn’t a complete disaster as I took Susan to our favorite Italian restaurant in Manhattan. We shared a meal and a fine bottle of…Coca-Cola? (Okay, it was a Cabernet- don’t judge me!) The conversation was flowing, the night was picking up. We finished dinner and headed to the Broadway Theater. Did I mention we were seeing the Lion King?! I don’t know why it didn’t dawn on me that we were seeing a kid’s show, which became painfully apparent when the ushers began to offer booster seats to those in need. I could feel the romance slipping away quickly. The last nail in the coffin occurred when a 9 year-old sat next to us in his booster seat and as the curtains arose, he began to yell, “Simba!”
Strike TWO.
Amidst my profound sense of failure and low-grade self-hate, something very powerful would happen that night. As the pageantry and the power of the show began, my soul was stirred by one scene in particular.
I was familiar with the storyline, as I’ve watched the Disney film with my 2 daughters, anywhere from 8 to 8 million times. The scene that gripped me that evening was of a bazaar monkey named Rafiki. He would steer Simba, the wayward lion king to a body of water. Simba peers into the water, his reflection would begin to fade and another’s would appear…… Mufasa, the great Lion King.
Simba, startled, pulls back from the image only to be encouraged by the old monkey.
“Look…he lives in you.”
As the watery image of Mufasa takes shape we hear his majestic voice, “Simba, you have forgotten me.”
“Father, I could never forget you.”
“You have forgotten who you are and therefore have forgotten me. You are more than you have become. You must take your place.”
For whatever reason, those words rocked me that night. It was as if God himself had spoken. The scriptures describe a very similar scene in Colossians 1:27 “…Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
You see, you and I as human beings have been created in the image of God. The “imago dei.” We are of infinite value and worth as image bearers of God. However, this image was marred, blurred if you will, because of sin. The good news of the gospel is not that we have cleaned ourselves off, and through discipline and hard work, have restored the pure image of God back to our life. On the contrary, the good news of the gospel is that Christ changes us from the inside out…it’s Christ inside of us that changes our hearts, which in turn changes our behavior. Now we not only do right things but we love righteousness. That’s different! That’s a changed heart; and only Christ can change hearts.
You and I are called to great things, to live as sons and daughters of the great King.
Can I encourage you with this: He lives in YOU!
My wife, Susan and I, have been married almost 27 years!
Shino Prater - Do something great today!
Have you ever been afraid to do something great for God? There is always that moment: there’s an obstacle in front of you and you question, “should I go left or right?”
We must understand that fear paralyzes and faith propels us forward.
2 Timothy 1:7 says that God did not give us a spirit of fear but of love and power and of a sound mind.
Today – I’m tasking you to put aside your fear, stand up tall with faith and to go out and do something great for God today!