This week has been crazy. Not so much in the sense of a lot of work or papers to write, but in the sense of a lot of opportunities and hopes finding themselves knocking at my front door. I broke up with Sonja a little over a month ago; if you read back through my posts to the one on the day of the break-up, you'll see that one of the reasons I made this decision was that I felt God felt God telling me, "This isn't where I want you right now." In all honesty, the only reasons I dated Sonja was because she was very pretty and she liked me (not that I didn't like her back, and she is a very sweet girl). The day after the break-up, I went through some periods of stoicism and hopelessness; I went to my favorite park here in Cincinnati, Mt. Echo, and went before God in prayer. He comforted me, telling me that everything was under control and that He would take care of me ("Don't you dare be afraid," He said to me).

A few posts ago I mentioned that I felt between a rock and a hard place, facing two possible relationships, one that would definitely take place if I went after it and another filled with all kinds of risks. I came to the conclusion that I had more feelings for the girl with whom I would have to take a risk, so I decided to avoid the easy route and walk the hard one. I started inviting her to hang out one-on-one. We hung out for four hours together Monday, five and a half hours Tuesday, a little bit Wednesday, and then she invited me to a concert with her Thursday night and we went together. Emily (her roommate) and Kyle (one of my best friends) told me that I had better tell her that I like her. So I bought two orders of hot chocolate and met her on the stone wall on the hill overlooking Cincinnati. "I'm sure you've noticed that something is up," I said. She said it had not escaped her attention. With a cool wind whistling past us, I told her, "The truth is, I have feelings for you. I like you." She did not say anything at first, remaining rather quiet. Then she said, "No one's ever told me that before." She was suspended in a quiet for about forty-five minutes as we sat on the hill; I let the silence come, as Emily told me, "She'll be really quiet and won't say much. That's just how she is, don't take it the wrong way." I told the girl, "I would like to take you out sometime. Nothing fancy, you'd have to drive. You don't have to answer now. Think it over, then let me know, okay?" "Okay," she said. I never received an answer last night.

This morning she met me for lunch and we sat in the coffee shop, talking for about an hour. The subject of last night never came up, but our conversation went well, diverging into several areas of interest: theology, doctrine, "Is baptism needed for salvation?", and "Is Hell eternal torment or eternal destruction?" We even discussed different aspects fo justification and sanctification. I found that I could use theological words and she understands; it's quite enjoyable. She's very brilliant, too, and has thought a lot about her faith. She, like me, is very postmodern in her thinking. She left for home today, and I asked if I could call her sometime over the weekend. "Of course you can call me anytime you want!" she said.

So I don't know what's going on between me and her right now. She's known (apparently) for two weeks that I've liked her, and yet she's continued hanging out with me and inviting me places with her. She was more than willing to hang out today knowing that I'd "popped the question." She still has not told me whether or not she wants to go on a date, but I'm not pushing for it. She is a very quiet, shy, introspective girl, and I think it's a good idea for her to think these things over. If we do end up dating, I want to take things slow. I will keep all of my loyal readers informed of how things go.