A Life Across the Nations - episode 150
Here is someone else I met through Instagram, Karen-Marie Gariba. We made ourselves a nice connection and here we are. Karen-Marie has quite a geographical story. As you will hear, she is from Scotland. She made her way to Canada via Hong Kong, and her husband is from Ghana, Africa. How is that for an international life? She does have a love for the nations.
Karen-Marie has written a book, Goodbye Singleness. She was thoughtful in sending me a copy and I will get reading it, pronto. It details her time being single and how her faith brought her and her husband together. I loved when he told her, I really like you. It was sweet and unexpected. She didn’t get it at first then she did. Now it’s been 19 years of marriage, and one son. Life is good indeed.
God. Nations. Relationships.
— Karen Marie Gariba
It was a God-thing
Thoughts from A Life Across the Nations
I did read Karen-Marie’s book, Goodbye Singleness. It was simple, sweet and to the point. She wanted to have a husband one day so she prayed and waited, changed her priorities, waited some more, then it happened when she least expected it. And it was beautiful the way all the threads were woven together. She certainly could not have orchestrated that on her own. That’s the point. She didn’t.
If you’ve been listening for a while, reading the blogs, or know me in real life, then you know my faith is number one. I like to show it through my actions, in my beliefs, in the way I live my life. I’ve written about this quite a bit in these pages. I am revisiting the general topic to point out the weaving aspect. The way God works things together. Some would say it is coincidence. I think those are divinely orchestrated. You may hear it called a God thing. As in there is no way that could just randomly happen. Somehow these people, these events, this time were all aligned together to produce this outcome, that feeling. No other way to explain it. At least not to me.
Let me give you an example. (I have probably written about this previously. Instead of rereading every blog I’ve ever written, I think I’ll go ahead and tell you again. And who knows? Maybe I haven’t shared this here before.) I was in a relationship that was not healthy. I was trying to figure out how/when to get out. I was driving up a hill, and driving down the hill was a truck that had a company name on the side. I recognized it as belonging to a friend of a friend. Ron. I said to myself, There’s that Ron. He is such a good guy. I am ready for a good guy. I want to meet someone like that.
This moment had a huge impact on me. For one, I had met Ron before through friends. We were occasionally at the same functions. Through the years I observed what a stand-up man he was. A faithful and loving husband, a hands-on father. I never thought much of it. I simply noted it. For two, we ended up having a lovely conversation one time at our mutual friends’ house. Again, didn’t think anything of it. For three, some years later he asked about me through our friends. That gave me a little pause, that was sweet, but I was in the throes of the beginning of that relationship that would soon sour. A couple of years later, watching Ron drive down that hill. Duly noted.
I even told my therapist at the time, “I saw this guy I kind of know and he’s come to represent what I want in someone. He’s kind, faithful, a good dad and an all-around great guy.” Ron became a symbol to me of what was possible. He was my avatar of the next one if there even was going to be a next one. Fast forward a bit. I extricate myself out of the unhealthy relationship. (I always stayed too long!) From there I was talking to our mutual friend. One thing led to another and the next thing I knew Ron is calling me. He tells me he’s sure I could use a friend, and would I like to get together for dinner? Of course I said yes. I felt giddy. How was it even possible that the very man who was my avatar was calling me for a date?
You see I had never thought of Ron in that way. Yes I was flattered he had asked about me several years earlier but I didn’t hang on to it. Even when I saw him in the truck I thought of someone like him, not thinking it would actually be him. This is a God-thing in my book. You may have another theory and that is certainly your prerogative. As for me, I will stick to God orchestrating us both through many years and experiences, to become better versions of ourselves, and to end up together. Yep, it’s a God-thing all right.
It was always you.
Since I hadn’t seem him in years, our friend pulled this photo out to remind me. First date, here we come.
