An Ardent Suitor

Hannah got in the car one day after drama practice and sighed. "I hope Brandon will be okay." When I picked Hannah up, I'd noticed the young man waiting nearby on his bike.

"Brandon as in blond Brandon two streets over?" I asked. She's known him since third grade, and he's always been just a boy in the neighborhood.

"Yeah. Oh mom, I felt so bad for him, but I had to..."

"Had to what?"

"Well, he was hanging around after drama practice, and said he didn't want me to wait by myself until you got there." (Mom's note to self: get there earlier) "He starting saying stuff like, 'Hannah, I've known you for a long time,' and oh mom, I just knew what came next."

She sighed and continued. "He starting sputtering and talking real fast. 'Hannah, I really, really like you. You're so beautiful, and nice, and easy to talk to. I want to take you out someday, to dinner and a movie, and buy you pretty things.' He started talking faster and faster, and I thought he was going to pass out."

I already knew what was coming.

"I felt so bad telling him I couldn't be anything more than a friend. Turning down some guys is easy, but Brandon, I've known him forever. I didn't want to hurt him. I almost wanted to cry."

So we left him, the ardent suitor in our rearview mirror.

We have an ardent suitor, the One who loves us. He thinks we're beautiful, and wants to do more for us than we can imagine, above all that we can ask or think. And He waits faithfully for us, to make sure we get home safe.