This blog continues from a previous blog titled, “A Love Story Penned by God – Part 1: Blessed Beginnings.” Please read that blog before reading this one (it will make more sense).
Summerah held her breath now that her deep secret was out. Her thoughts began to run wild, “Will they send me home? Will I be looked down on for showing such weakness? What will people think?” The leader, in response, nodded her head, noted Summerah’s concern in her file, and moved onto the next question. Summerah then exhaled…
At the end of training, Summerah returned home with a fresh outlook on her life. She had been appointed the leader of her team, which was solidly in the grip of the Creator; she was free of any distractions from male warriors; and she was looking forward to beginning the world tour in a few short weeks. In the meantime, she maintained her daily communication with her Lover and kept up her exercise routine to maintain her endurance for the challenges ahead. During that time, her Creator and Friend showed her how He delighted in spending time with her, had specifically gifted her with a desire to see into the hearts of others, and was using both her gifting and exercise time to talk to people about Him. Her favorite encounter during that time was when she met a girl who was involved in dark arts. Summerah was running and saw a younger maiden walking through a meadow. She was carrying some luggage and left it in the bushes as she crossed over a stream. Curious, Summerah followed her and found her sitting on a bridge overlooking the water. Summerah asked, “Can I join you?” The girl silently assented by inclining her head, so Summerah sat down next to her on the bridge. Summerah asked, “What are you doing out here all alone?”
The young girl responded, “I am taking a holiday from my schooling.”
“What holiday are you celebrating? None of the other students have the opportunity to leave school today, do they,” Summerah questioned. While Summerah waited for the girl to respond, she took note of the girl’s dark clothes, the star-shaped pendant around her neck, the dark make-up encircling her eyes and by relying on the Creator’s spirit within her, discerned the work of the Enemy of the Soul within this young girl’s life. The girl’s youthful eyes sparked with creativity, yet clouded over with confusion and distrust when Summerah asked questions.
“It’s a holiday not recognized by my school so I take a holiday by myself. I celebrate nature and make potions. I don’t worship the Enemy of the Soul like everybody thinks,” she added hastily. “I don’t understand why people judge me. They tell me I will be forever lost in the Chasm of No Return because of my beliefs,” the girl spat out in indignation with nostrils flaring.
“Can I tell you what I believe,” Summerah asked. The girl paused in her tirade and her innocent, seeking eyes peered into Summerah’s as she nodded her head, all anger ebbing away. “I believe that there is a Creator who is a Friend of Your Soul and loves you very much. He has made you to be a leader and has given you a tender heart to love. He has always cared for you and He knows everything about you. You were His idea!”
In response, the girl stared unintelligibly at Summerah and then said, “Really? No one has ever told me that before.” Then, just as quickly as realization came, the same veil of confusion covered her eyes and she mumbled, “I have to go.” She quickly arose, walking away from Summerah and picking up her luggage on the way out of the meadow.
After the girl left, Summerah discussed the event with her Creator, “That was certainly unexpected, yet I thank you for the opportunity to battle the Enemy of Our Souls for her soul, O Lover of my soul. Thank you for this young girl. Please move in her life and let those seeds of truth spoken, take root within her soul. Thank you for using me to communicate your love.”
After many such scenarios in the time between training and leaving to travel the world, it was time for Summerah to meet up with her fellow warriors and leave her home for the Philippines. When she boarded the flight for the 16 hour journey across the sea, she found that she had an entire row (of 2 seats) all to herself and opted to sit in the aisle seat for the benefit of more leg room for the lengthy flight, even though she generally preferred the window seat. As she settled into her seat, she heard, “Summerah, is that an open window seat?” Surprised that anyone would be addressing her, here in the back of the plane, she looked up to see, who else but, Montaña calling to her from across the aisles of seats!
“Um…yeah, it is,” Summerah answered. Inside, she thought, “Great, nothing like being confronted by my fears and concerns right at the beginning of this entire thing! Well, at least I can get over my feelings because I’m sure spending 16 hours with him will show me how boring or self-absorbed or not the ideal guy (or any other excuse to not be interested in him) he is.” Unknowing of any of Summerah’s thoughts, Montaña seemingly vaulted the seats with all of his warrior gear and planted himself in the seat next to her. “Here we go,” she mumbled as the plane taxied for take-off.
For the first hour, Montaña and Summerah maintained cordial conversation about hopes and expectations for the following eleven months around the world. They talked of family and Montaña talked about the mechanics of the plane, detailing the effect of clouds on flying and the actions of the pilot at any given moment of the flight. Summerah found that instead of the boredom or apathy she expected, she was well-entertained and could even share her deep, heart-felt, contagious laughter with Montaña. While they took breaks from talking in order to sleep, their slumber was short indeed and they seemed to enjoy their time more aptly by watching movies or the approaching sunrise. At the end of the flight, Summerah found that she was sad to leave the plane or more truthfully her newfound friend, Montaña, no matter the discomfort of her legs and swelling feet! At the same time, she was mindful to keep her thoughts focused on her Creator, bringing Montaña to Him and reminding herself that she was only friends with Montaña.
Upon arriving at the first location in the Philippines, Summerah faced adjustment and transition along with all of the other warriors in this new place. To aid with this transition, more training was provided before releasing the warriors into this new country to practice what they had learned. During this time, Summerah was glad to see Montaña, yet she maintained her distance from him to avoid the struggle with her emotions. Even in her avoidance, however, she noticed that somehow she would end up being around him. When she got up early in the morning, inevitably he would get up at the same time and recommend a book that she was already reading or during teaching times, she would find that they ended up sitting by each other or she would be gazing at the world map in the hall and he would comment over her shoulder about some amazing place he hoped to explore. At other times when the warriors were asked to encourage each other by speaking the Creator’s words over each other, Summerah felt comfortable speaking over the male warriors, all that is except for Montaña. In her frustration with her whirlwind of emotions, she cried out to her Lover, “You know that I long to follow you and only have a heart for you. Why do I find myself continually around him?”
She felt the Creator whisper, “I want you to be his friend.”
“Really? I can just be his friend? It’s okay?” Summerah was incredulous that this could really be true, but she trusted the Lover of her soul and believed He was working out His perfect plan in both her life and Montaña’s. Once the teams went out to their separate areas within the Philippines, Summerah felt more at peace with her emotions. She faced many storms to weather with her team, but she learned that she only had her Beloved to lean on. He whispered to her the lessons of the desert, “Who is this coming up from the desert leaning on her lover? (It was a lesson of learning the necessity of learning to lean on Him in her weakness.)” As the time for coming together with all of the other warriors approached, Summerah again found her thoughts drifting to Montaña, which she quickly confessed and dismissed as ridiculous.
Finally, the day arrived where all of the teams came back together, greeting and welcoming each other warmly. Summerah greeted all of her friends, yet missed Montaña, unintentionally or intentionally, she wasn’t sure. It was quickly remedied when she walked into the kitchen and came face to face with Montaña by the coffee supplied for the warriors. “Hello, Montaña,” Summerah managed to stammer, reminding herself that they truly were friends. “How was your month in the field?” In response, he sort of shook his head as if not sure or indicating that it was difficult; Summerah wasn’t sure. She pressed him, “Please, tell me how your month really went.”
Montaña then shared, “It was difficult. Honestly, I spent a lot of time working in the tunnel, helping the locals dig a ditch and I didn’t spend a lot of time with my team. It was pretty lonely. How was your month?”
“It was a challenging month. I struggled as a leader, but the Creator was faithful and showed me a lot about leaning on Him in my weakness…” Summerah replied.
“Really. How did he show you that,” Montaña asked, cocking his head, sipping on his coffee, and riveting his eyes on Summerah, showing genuine interest as if he had no other place to be than discussing her month.
Before answering, Summerah thought to herself, “He’s going to think I’m crazy if I tell Him about my experiences with the Creator as a Lover. Maybe I’ll just tell him what I learned this month and hopefully he’ll understand…” She then took a deep breath and said, “I’ve been lonely this month and I realized that all I had was the Creator. He spoke to me about walking through the desert and leaning on Him as a Lover. I will come out of the desert, but perhaps the reason I am in the desert is to learn to lean on Him, recognizing my inability to save myself or draw on my own strength. It was a tough lesson this month, but necessary.”
Montaña seemed to understand, despite the limited details Summerah provided. They discussed things from the month for a while and then parted ways. Later that day, the teams received their assignments for the next month. Lo and behold, Summerah and Montaña’s teams were paired together for their time in Hong Kong and China. Summerah threw up her hands to her Creator and said, “Whatever. Do what you need to do this month. I don’t understand your ways…”
Stay Tuned for the Continuation of the Saga in Part 3!
