Growly: Part 1

Below is a children's story about grown-up heartaches. This IS a serious post. Growly is Part 1 of 3.

Photo Cred: Daniele Manta

Growly was a big lion. He was the biggest of his pride and all the other lions followed him, especially when they hunted. One day while Growly was on his hunt, he met a lamb drinking at a pond.

“Please don’t eat me!” The lamb said as Growly walked up to him.

Growly was so hungry, and the lamb was so weak and small. “Why?” said Growly. “You are food, and I am supposed to eat you. That’s how God made me.”

“Yes, but it’s wrong! We are your friends. God wants you to love your friends and not eat them.”

Growly shook his mane and grunted. “But I’m still hungry.”

“Let’s do a trade, then.” The lamb said, “Eat the fish in this pond. It will fill your hunger, and I will be your friend.”

Growly thought about the trade and agreed. “Okay. You can be my friend for three days, and I will eat the fish at this pond. If I like being your friend after three days, then I will let you go.”   

So Growly spent three days talking with the lamb. They talked about small things like how the sky turned milky red at sunset. They laughed at the critters in the trees that bumped into each other as they hopped around. Growly told the lamb about other things like the pain that was deeper than hunger. It kept Growly awake on cold nights and made him want to hunt more the next day.

“That’s because you don’t have love,” the lamb said. “When you don’t love, your heart doesn’t know what to do, so it does other things.”

After three days, Growly realized he was going to miss the lamb. “Please stay!” 

He said. “I can eat the fish. Just be my friend.”

The lamb said, “I will always be your friend, but I have a shepherd. He’s looking for me, and I need to go back home.”

Growly growled loud and angry. “You’re leaving because you aren’t my friend! 

Don’t hate me now!”

The lamb was not afraid. He said, “Growly, you wanted me to fill the hunger in your belly, but I have filled the hunger in your heart. I am your friend, and I will always love you.”

Growly stopped growling. He was sad, but he wasn’t angry anymore. “I love you, too, Lamb.” And he let the lamb go.

 

How to Find Your Life Mate: Because it Takes Awesome to Find Awesome

Stan: I know many good men and women who are at an age where they want to start a relationship, especially one that leads to marriage, but they don’t know how to meet people. What are some good ideas they can do to meet that special someone?

Good question, Stan.

If you’re the type of person who saves orphaned puppies, re-posts thought-provoking memes, or prepares elaborate meals of obscure ethnic origins, you are awesome. If you spend hours playing World of Warcraft with someone else's grandmother or volunteer at the local Walmart, you are awesome. If you like to sing, write, dance, watch TV, listen to music, play music, sleep….etc. you are awesome. However, being awesome is not enough to find that special someone. It takes awesome to find awesome.

Below is a list of places you can go to search for awesome people like yourself because let’s be honest, chances are not great that you’re going to find the love of your life at your niece’s birthday party or the McDonald’s drive-thru. Just because you frequently spend time at the gas station does not mean you are destined to meet your match while pumping fuel into your 2003 Toyota that probably needs a bath, a vacuuming and some air fresheners. Check this list out, take that first step, and talk to strangers!

THE PRE-TECHNOLOGY METHOD

For those of you who still refuse to join the masses on Facebook, loathe texting and always hang up your phone as soon as you hear someone’s voicemail, you will benefit most by taking the pre-technology method. Search for your matches at these three places…

1.     The Park

Necessary items: Paper and pen (for writing your number or e-mail)

A dog (for providing a topic of conversation with that cute guy/gal)

Wallet with cash (for giving money to the local inhabitants)

Suggested conversation starter: My dog likes your ankles. Do you mind if she sniffs them?

2.     The Library

Necessary items: A bookmark and pen (for writing your number or e-mail)

library card (for "accidentally" dropping on the ground)

                       A hamster in a cage (because who wouldn’t talk to you when you’re holding that?)

Suggested conversation starter: Do you like “Choose Your Own Adventure” books? You do? Okay, then do you “A” ask me to coffee, “B” ask me to dinner, or “C” do both and then take me to a movie?

3.     Club/Bar/Lounge

Necessary Items: Napkin and Pen (for writing your number or e-mail)

Driver’s License (for comparing awkward DMV photos)

A wingman (because four eyes are better than two)

Suggested conversation starter: Where’s the bathroom?

THE ONLINE METHOD

For those of you hooked on WiFi like a patient hooked up to an IV, the online method is perhaps the best way to go. Maybe you enjoy expressing yourself with a vocabulary impossible for spontaneous speech, or talking and making eye contact requires too much energy and breath. If you would rather read than listen, prefer emoticons to facial expressions, or simply type faster than you speak, try these three social dating sites.

4.     eHarmony: Sounds a bit like “eat our money.” Costs a little, but you get to talk to strangers!

5.     LinkedIN: It’s like eHarmony, but for career oriented people. Good for like-minded workaholics. Update that work history, like all those “causes,” and fill up on “skills,” then the website suggests new connections based on similarities! It’s a free digital matchmaker.

6.     Facebook: Great for stalking, but really it’s for people who are face-to-face and phone-phobic. Best strategy is to set up an event and invite all your potential matches. Take care to comb over personal information, interests and hobbies before making an invite list.

Suggested conversation starter: LOL. Who knows how to do Tweeter?

THE PLACES OF FAITH METHOD

For those of you who are set on marrying a person of the same faith and are convinced it’s IMPOSSIBLE to find a good match outside of spiritual gatherings, this method is for you.

7.     Young Adults Group: Also known as a mixer for single people who aren’t married yet but aren’t supposed to act interested in finding a life mate because that would look desperate, and you shouldn’t show too much interest while searching for someone to love for the rest of your life, otherwise it might distract you from your spiritual journey...right?

8.     Mission Trips: A lot of people find their life mate on mission trips because that’s pretty much the only time you have a chance to get to know someone in a church setting, but you can’t act like you like each other until after the trip otherwise it takes away spirituality points.

9.     The Leadership Team: It’s the cream of the crop, the most well-balanced, spiritually stable people you’ll ever meet, but also the most unattainable. Unless your first name is “Mary” and last name is “Me,” your chances of matching up with someone from the “Core Group” are pretty small, but it doesn’t hurt to try.

Suggested conversation starter: Look into my eyes for two minutes, and I’ll pray God gives me a “word” for you.

In conclusion, there are many places to look for that special someone. There’s really no excuse NOT to go out and find them. Just remember, finding an awesome person is just step one, talking to him/her is still required…another topic for another day.

Stan—If all else fails, pay a matchmaker to pair you up and hope for the best.