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Buster Brown Valentine postcard by Richard Fel...

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No matter how long you’ve been dating a person, you don’t know everything about them. Things Mr. P. Doesn’t Know About Me is a series in which I relate an incident/memory which just hasn’t come up in conversation between Mr. P. and I. I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoy re-discovering (and writing about) them.

One year when I was in college I had ten Valentines. Yes, by “Valentines” I mean males who took me to dinner and a movie for Valentine’s Day. I must confess, even I was surprised by this fact. Some of them had girlfriends, but that wasn’t my problem. For one night only, they were all mine.

I was in the Christian Student Center in college. It was one of the greatest times of my life. I got along well with all of the other “members” of the center, and we had a very charismatic campus minister named Dan. Dan was about thirty and from Nashville, Tennessee. He was really excited and passionate about the Word; he was also one of the funniest people I’ve ever associated with the ministry. He led creative discussions and Bible Studies. Two of my favorites were a discussion of an episode of the TV show Millenium, and an exposition on Pacino’s “Fan of Man” speech in The Devil’s Advocate (how he found a non-profanity laden two minutes in that movie, I’ll never know!). I loved going on the retreats and going to Tuesday Noon Prayer Lunches. But by and large my favorite Dan the Man activity had to be Single Awareness Day.

I’m not sure whether Single Awareness Day started as a joke or was a legitimate idea. Either way, by the time Valentine’s Day rolled around, it was a planned activity. I guess the point was that Valentine’s Day was one of those days when single’s really struggle. They don’t have anyone to go on a date with, and their other friends are on dates. It’s cold outside, colder because you’re lonely. It can be a rough day for the single population. We needed to be aware of the singles. What a perfect time for the singles to get together and have some fellowship. No one wants to be alone on Valentine’s Day, and because of S.A.D., they wouldn’t have to.

Dan invited everyone who was either single, or whose significant other was out of town over the holiday, out for a day of fellowship. I was excruciatingly single at the time (my state for 22-years–never mind I wasn’t even potty-trained for at least one of them ;-)), so I decided to go and fellowship instead of sitting in my room eating non-chocolate Valentine’s candy and watching sappy movies. I met everyone at the CSC. I was a little startled at what I found.

Gathered in the living room of the big yellow house were ten men–and only men. If I needed any reminder of how big of a loser I was, there it was. Every other female that was part of the CSC had someone to spend Valentine’s Day with (incidently, all of those girls, except maybe one, are married now). There I stood amongst Tom, the ardent venison loving Texan, Dan, the campus minister, Justin, the green-eyed wonder, Craig, my favorite bass singer (pre-Mr. P), and six other men.

Needless to say, I had a day fit for a queen. Ten Christian men holding doors, pulling out chairs, clearing my plates away at Panera, allowing me to choose the movie (Big Fish). I believe I even got a Valentine’s Day gift from someone (I can’t remember who or what…hmm…).

I sometimes wonder what ever happened to those guys. Did Tom go back to Texas? Did Justin finish his Masters in Engineering? How’s Craig enjoying married life? Where is Dan ministering now? These men, along with the fraternity brothers in KDR who celebrated my 20th birthday with me (another story for another post!), hold a special place in my heart. They made my college experience that much more fun. Being a part of the CSC allowed me to meet some awesome men and women of God. Loving one another, fellowshipping and worshipping with one another, and showing genuine affection and concern for each other is the greatest loving relationship that we could ever experience.

Besides, not every girl can say she had ten valentines.

XOXO

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