"More tears are shed over answered prayers then unanswered ones..."

Look errone i shortned the archives! yay for me and ofr you guys also. Now you dont have to scroll forever down. Theyre organized by the months now, so click on a month and i guess youll end up reading a months worfs of makeitclap. So in juss 27 days or so itll be my one yurr blog anniversary! So much has happened that within that one yurr. Thoguh im still hurr clappin away! Thanks for all the support which has helped kept this site going! Well tonite i got something coo to shurr w/yall. I got a d0pe story along w/another really cool lesson. Ahh yes good stuff i love it! OH yeah lf has a new community member who is quite an interesting person, i havent exactly met her but i saw her tag their guestbook on the website. haha

Rescue Me

My high skool was in a border town, meaning we got new students who came over with their families from mexico. Sometimes theyd speak english, and sometimes thye didnt. We wouldnt normally mingle with these kids. We just sort of stuck with our own group.

Leticia was different. She was one of those girls who walks in a room, and everything gets all fuzzy and slow motion, like in the movies. SHe had long, dark hair and the greenest eyes id ever seen. She smiled as she walked by, and even though it probably wasnt at me, i took it as a sign.
Im not usually the 'lucky' type, but fate seemed to be smiling down on me because it turned out she was in most of my classes. The first time she was called on in US history, she knew the answer and she spoke in perfect english. I later found out she was from mexico city and had studied American History at her school there. This totally intimidated me.

On april 11, i was sitting in US history, totally stressing out bout a midterm we were having the next day. I didnt even notice the guidance counselor come in to talk to our teacher, Mr. Huston. When he called my name, i didnt hear him. Then i looked up, and both he and teh counselor had strange expressions on their faces, and they were looking at me. Something was wrong. I figured i was in trouble, but i coudlnt imagine for what. I followed the guidance counselor down the hall and into her office. When we got there, the principal was there, too. They were both silent for a mimin. Then the principal began to speak.

"YOur father has had a heart attack. The paramedics and doctors did everything they could to save him, but im afraid he didnt make it. "OKay," I said "Well, id better be getting back to class. I dont want ti miss the rest of the exam review." They looked at me, stunned. I dindt really know what i was saying. I felt like they were telling me bout someone else's dad. I just didnt get it.
The next few weeks were a blur as we had the funeral and began adjusting to life without my dad. I went back to school after i ran out of things to do at home. Everything felt a little different. I cant exactly explain how; it just did.

BAck at skool everyone was super nice to me. The teachers didnt call on me, and they kept asking me to stay after class to see if i was 'okay.' My friends were really weird. I felt like i coudlnt talk to them about the same old things. It was all so strange. MY dad was a great guy, and then all of a sudden he was dead. HE didnt do anything wrong. HE never hurt anyone. I started eating lunch alone. I just couldnt deal with listening to the same stupid jokes or talking bout random stuff. About three weeks after i went back to school, i was sitting in the corner of the quad, not really eating, just staring off into space. 'Are you going to eat the rest of that sandwhich?' I looked up and saw leticia standing in front of me.

'Huh?' i responded. I looked down and realized i hadn't touched my sandwhich. I handed it over. As she gratefully accepted, she told me, 'My mom packed me meat and egg torta. Your turna fish looks better." She sat down beside me, but seemed happy to just sit there. After a few minutes, i grew too uncomfortable. 'Why did you come oveeer?' i asked. 'You looked like you could use a friend,' She said. 'I lost my father last year.' I didnt know what to say to her, and she didnt know what to say to me. I didnt want to to talk about my dad, but for the first time in a while, i felt okay just being with another person.

We started to have lunch together on that bench everyday. We never mentioned my dad or her dad except she told me that was the reason they moved from mexico. Wr talked bout skool, tv, movies and other meaningless stuff. I loved her mom's tortas, and she seemed to like my 'american' sandwhiches. I finally worked up the nerve to ask her to go to a movie with me. "I;d like to," She said, 'But i have ot ask you a question first. Are you christian?' 'huh?!' I replied. She told me her dad was a deeply spiritual man, and that it had been very important to thim that she associate only with christians. Basically, she was saying she couldnt go out with me unless i believed in the same stuff she did. I was confused. She had become my friend, and up till now she didnt care if i was a christian or not.

I told her i wanted to go out w/her, but i dindt think i was a christian and i didnt thin it should matter. Unfortunately, i then said something really stupid. I said, 'it doesnt matter to me that youre mexican.' She looked at me, then got up and walked away. A week went by. i came to the bench every day with a tuna-fish sandwhich in hopes leticia would show up. No luck. But finally one day she was there. "To love the Lord with all your heart, mind, soul and strength and your neighbor as yourself, means to experience forgiveness, and to forgive others as well as yourself. " Matthew 6:12 That's all she said. Then she took my tuna sandwhich and started eating it.

So we went back to our routine of daily lunch and sandwhich exchange. I dindt birng up the dating thing again, and neither did she. The prom was coming up, and i really wanted to ask her. 'So what does it take to become a christian anyway? Do i ahve to shave my head or go spend the night in the woods or something?' She ignored my sarcasm. 'No, all you have to do is pray with me.' 'All i ahve to do is pray?' That seemed pretty easy. 'Well, there is one catch,' she said. 'You have to mean it. I mean really mean it. You have to give up your soul to God. YOu have ot beg forgiveness for all your sins. Can you do that?'

Sure, i thought. A little prayer and i get to take leticia to the prom. 'Okay,' i said. 'Lets do it. Where do we do?' 'How bout right here?' she responded. 'In front of everyone?' 'Why not?' She told me to close my eyes. Then she started to pray. She asked me to invite God's spirit into my heart. I started to say the words after her and stopped. I saw this image in my mind of a closed door. I was about to open it and go through. I could see light streaming through the keyhole. We were silent for a long time as i had my hand on the doorknob. Then i turned it opened the door.

I started to cry. I cried for my father. I cried for my motheer and sister. I cried for leticia's father. I cried for all the kids who lost their fathers and mothers. I couldnt stop crying. I felt God's grace. Leticia and i went to the prom, and we had a great time. We're seniors now, and were still together. I miss my dad a lot, and i think bout him all the time. I still dont have all the answers. But i owe leticia a lot because she gave me my faith. She rescued me.

Okay so last nite i discussed the steps of after you find someone the hows of wha to do next. The whole 1,2,3 process, spiritual, emotional, then physical. Well in today's secular society, it would go the opposite. First you become physically attracted to that person. Oh yeah he/she is hot, blah blah. The whole butterflies in the stomach deal. They go out and a couple dates and as they get closer, they become emotionally united. They start to shurr intimate stories and stuff bout themselves. Yet when it comes to the spiritual stuff, thas whurr the breaks are put on hold. (screeching of tires sound hurr) Why does this happen? Cuz the couple looks at prayer and they think prayer?! Ha! Why do i need pray w/this person? Prayer is only gonna become a hinderance to my relationship w/this person. Im happy, she's happy, we aint missin out on anything. Whurr is Jesus in that relationship...He's not there, youre right!

So how does that spiritual, emo and physical part work? Put yourself an environment whurr youre gonna get closer to God. Doing service, in other word's God's work. Granted if it's in His will, God will send that person to you in that same environment, example youf group/prayer community etc. Get to know that person, swap your journey's of faith, how you became whurr you are today etc. etc. That could be the spiritual part of it. As time surpasses, you guys get to know each even better. Share a little bit more bout each other, your past and all that stuff. Thas the emotional part of the relationship. The physical aspect could be juss spending the closeness w/each other like going to mass, praying the rosary together, do things more physically. So while youre growing spiritually, that other person is growing spiritually and you come to fnd out that your spirituality is complimentary.

The importance of making it flow in this order is that by the time you get to the physical part, they know how to draw the boundaries. HOw? cuz they had the spiritual that blessed emotional that blessed the physical. It doesnt become lust cuz you now look at that person as God's gift to you, rather then your personal gratification. I guess as they call it in sfc, 'GG.' Kinda corny but hey whatever floats your boat or finds your lost remote! Like i said last nite often times we let the emo part get to us whurr we end up putting that first. Thas when it becomes dangerous cuz you only come to realize you dont really love that person and youre only using that person to fill in the void. As jaymee as very well put it sucks for that person cuz then youre only taking up their time.

In the story, leticia gave to the kid hte faith he never had. Thas what she brought into the relationship. So in someway it was kinda spiritual, she was able not to force the kid to change, but she inspired him to change. Another thing i got out of it, was the importance of faith being value to who she chose to go out with. I thought that was d0pe cuz you want to know someone who enjoys same stuff youd like to do. For example like going to mass, praying the rosary, adoration etc etc. Though ive been told that its important to seek help once in that relationship. I suggested a to a friend of mine to seek a spiritual director for her relationship.

Its different when friends give us advice on how to fix the problems that go inside the relationship. Yet the whole point of being together w/that person is becoming closer to GOd.(see triangle realtionship entry from yesterday.)What better way to do it then through the help of a priest or of a religous. Juss like in our daily lives, we cant do things on our own but we continually ask for God's grace in all that we do. Thas why He's there for us, thas why we gave us priests and religous, for them to guide us. Anyway, i know i said a mouful tonite, but hey it could help you later down the line. Ya never know right?! Good stuff, i love it!

I hate this change of weather, it messes up my whole sinus system!


What did you get out of the story?

"I prayed for her even more than me..."im done, im out God bless!