More Powerful Than a Ring

At the bank today, I had to sit down with a banker to order checks. The guy had that look in his eye and immediately started complementing me. The complements kept on coming, "I like your earrings, you smell good, wow you just had a baby?!" I tried to ignore it because I'm not very good at responding well to men who are inappropriate. I usually just get scared and let them say things that cross boundaries and just smile. I really didn't want to end up in another situation where I felt like I was being taken advantage of, even just verbally. And no longer did I have a ring on my finger I could obnoxiously flash around. God, I prayed silently, please protect me.

I've had the same job as the banker before so I wasn't surprised he was asking a million questions, getting really personal, and otherwise "building repor" or so they call it. After asking all those questions, he found something in common with me. Great, I sarcastically thought, he was also in the middle of a divorce. He starting sharing an awful lot about his story and I finally interrupted him and said, "Hey do you have anyone to talk to about this?" He said he had a therapist. I asked if his therapist prayed with him, and he awkwardly replied, "no," before he said, "Hey I live really close, if you ever want to have coffee and talk." I opened my mouth and let God take over. "No," I quickly responded, "You need to be a whole person before you can do that with someone, and so do I. And you need a therapist, or counselor, who prays with you because you and I both know how much pain this is. And you need someone who can identify the hurt, the lie, and the spirit behind that hurt, then kill it and restore you to the truth. God needs you to know the truth; that he loves you and this can and will be used for the good if you let him." I was preaching to myself as the same time. He seemed to quickly relinquish that mysterious power some guys possess when they see a conquest in front of them. Good, I laughed mentally, he's too freaked out by my bold faith now to bother me.

I went home smiling and so thankful that I had something more powerful than a flashing ring to protect me. I had a God who could speak through me with power and authority.