My children’s elementary school celebrated twenty years of existence yesterday with a school wide Carnival.
We were getting ready to head out the door when Faith excitedly said, “I am meeting Caitlyn in the library at the Carnival.” Not to be outdone by his sister, Joshua quickly countered with, “I am meeting someone too at the library.” Faith’s natural follow-up question brought the crickets out in the room. “Who are you meeting?” Dead silence…
In realizing that he had spoken up just a little bit too quickly without thinking of the ramifications of the aftermath of such a pronouncement, Joshua bowed his head in determined silence so as not to reveal the name of his “Meet you at the library date.” I knew right away that it was a girl. Faith pressed for the name. Joshua could have easily bench pressed 350 pounds of clenched teeth to keep his silence. And so it went, back and forth like a ping pong match for the next few minutes. Joshua holding his ground. Faith, on the offensive to extract the identity of the would be date.
We arrived at the parking lot of the elementary school under threatening skies and Faith was first to jump out and greet another classmate by name. While Faith was distracted, I pulled Joshua over to the side. With one hand on his shoulder his big brown eyes looked up and met mine. “Who are you meeting at the library?” He said her name. He was a little embarrassed. He didn’t want his big sister giving him a hard time about it.
I smiled and my proud heart skipped a beat or two.
I put my arm around his shoulder…
He wrapped his arm around my hip…
We both walked with purpose…
We were on our way to the Carnival…
To the 20 year birthday celebration of Powell Elementary School.
I am not sure where Joshua’s mind was, but all I could think about as each step brought us one step closer to the school was…
Boy meets Girl!

SeeingGodatWorkEveryDay…
How long ago was it when you had that certain date?
Maybe it was a first date…
A blind date…
A “Match.com” date…
A “I haven’t seen you in 20 years” date…
A “I’m coming home after being away for days” date…
A “I have been counting down the days” date…
Do you remember your heartbeat?
Do you remember how the butterflies fluttered?
Were your palms as wet as the Mississippi river?
Was your mouth as parched as the California drought?
Were you dressed just perfectly?
The Bible tells a great story of “Boy meets Girl.”
Jesus was tuckered out. He was in foreign and hostile territory. He was in Samaria. The order of the day was Jews don’t hang out with Samaritans.
It was high noon. The sun was straight overhead. He had been walking for miles. He sent the disciples into town.
Jesus sat down against the well. I have to believe that He knew she would be coming.
She didn’t know who she was about to meet.
I believe Jesus knew that this “Boy meets Girl” encounter was about to rock a lot of people’s world.
She arrived at noon to the well.
She carried a large water jar. It was empty. She had come to the well to fill it.
The water jar represented the burden of her life as well as the purpose of her life. Weighed down by a weight only she knew the full brunt of…
You see, she came at noon because it was the only time she could come.
She was an outcast.
She had been married five times and the man she was living with at the moment was not her husband.
To come to the well early in the morning with the other women would have been an exercise in abuse as the side way glances of the other women would have knocked her over. The sound of the whispers would have been deafening. She would have been bowled over like a tumbleweed straight out of Amarillo.
So… she comes when no one else will be at the well.
Except today, there he sits, tired and tuckered, a man, by himself.
This is not good. Men don’t engage with women by themselves in this culture.
And yet, this has been providentially planned.
Now the time has come for “Boy meets Girl.”
Jesus counter-culturally quickly engages her.
They talk about her five husbands and current live-in partner.
They talk about the Messiah.
They talk about where true worship is to take place.”
They talk and talk.
And before you know it, the woman is running.
Running not in fear
Running in joy!
She can’t wait to tell the other villagers about her meeting the Messiah.
As she runs off, guess what she forgets?
The water jars!
The very purpose of her hiding, the very reason for high noon showdown, the very burden that left her humped and slumped over at the weight of it all.
Jesus has a way of doing that with people.
Listen close…
Jesus has a way of doing that with people.
He met her where she was.
He didn’t condemn.
He didn’t preach.
He didn’t judge.
He didn’t chastise.
He didn’t do a lot of things.
But what He did do is gave this woman new life.
He gave her purpose…
He gave her hope…
He gave her a future…
He gave her love..
He gave her acceptance…
And the very thing that had burdened her, the water jars, was left behind.
This is what happens when Boy meets Girl!
This is what happens when Boy meets Boy!
This is what happens when Jesus meets you where you are…
I don’t know where you are today…
But Jesus does…
He is on His way…
Get ready to meet the Boy who loves you with a furious love…
Who knows?
Maybe, just maybe, you too will run with joy leaving behind all that burdens you and weighs you down…
I don’t know about you, but I think that is pretty cool…
Just think about it for a minute or two…
Boy meets Girl…
My palms are sweating with anticipation already…
 Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me all that I ever did.” ⁴⁰ So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. ⁴¹ And many more believed because of his word. ⁴² They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.” (John 4. 39-42 ESV)
SeeingGodatWorkEveryDay…
Laugh often and Fear not!
David!
ps – I asked Joshua when we got home if had indeed met the “girl” at the library. He said, “Oh yeah. I saw her at the library.” My curiosity got the best of me. “What did you two do or talk about?” The innocence, oh the innocence of his voice, “I saw her in the library and I waved at her and she waved back at me.” Boy meets Girl with a wave of the hand! How novel!
David@seeinggodatworkeveryday.com