Young Love...

I think I was in sixth grade when I had my first real crush. Actually two of them. The first and I was one of millions was Davy Jones of the Monkeys. He was the quintessential crush of the late '60's. And I was in luv with him.

Then there was Doug. He was handsome, smart, popular and didn't know I even existed. I thought he was the cutest boy in the world and I wanted to marry him i was eleven. Doug had all the girls looking at him and in fact, the guys too because they wanted to be like him. Sort of like Danny Zuko in Grease only Doug wasn't a "Bad" boy.

I remember in 1968 there was a Presidential Election and we did a mock election at our school in New Albany. He represented candidate Richard Nixon and I surely voted for him...Doug that is.

I used to cry because he didn't really notice me and I used to play all those girlie songs of woe and sing them really loud in my bedroom and cry because I was so in love with Doug. of course i'd forget about him the second Davy Jones would show up.

I learned toward then end of school that Doug was moving away and I cried some more. We had been through so much together. I mean I worshipped him from afar and worried about him when he had to take all those pesky rabies shots and then, just when he had started noticing me, dancing with me even at our daily lunch time "dance parties" we had a really cool teacher and kind of hanging out with me...I learned he was moving away.

HOW COULD LIFE BE SO CRUEL??

Heart broken, I vowed never to fall in love again and that I would live in a cave like a hermit.

But I did....at least five or six times more and was heart broken every single time. I thought I would NEVER find the one. Oh sure I had memories; pictures, jewelry, clothing....but I didn't have someones heart.

I never realized that I had to go through all the junk to get to the treasure. I didn't know that God had someone picked out especially for me. I didn't even know God. It wasn't until He placed me in the right place at the right time to find the treasure He had for me that I realized all of those other boys were just warm up...time killers...maturity makers...until it was the perfect time.

You are probably wondering why I'm talking about young love....puppy love. There is a young person going through this right now i won't name names because i don't want to cause any embarrassment who may need some encouragement. I would say to this young person....this is just the shaky beginning of your exploration into the world of love. You will have many more highs and lows in developing who you are in a relationship. As my mom used to say to me, every time I was heartbroken at least once a month there's more than one fish in the sea. I used to hate that...I wanted that one fish...but now, looking back...I understand.

Don't worry about the fish that got away...concentrate on your life and your walk with God and He will bring you the BEST fish ever!! You will have a grown up love that will knock your socks off! But for now....enjoy life. Don't put emphasis on "going out with" someone. Be friends with everyone and try to wait patiently for the miracle God has for you.

I do wonder what ever happened to those boys who broke my heart. But I do know this....none of them could hold a candle to the man I have now.

No not one.