A close encounter with God

Competing with God for the love of a woman

So I set up the mood with a Christian song that asks God to be somebody's universe. Many Christians around the world have close encounters with God, seen in miracles or good things in their life. As for me, I consider myself a blessed man, with talents, with a great family, and overall a great life. Still all of this, has not been my closest encounter with God.

My encounter with God was more personal than others, was an encounter with a God that seemed more human than ever, was an encounter that shaped my view on relationships, and the role of religion within it. I am a person that believes, that believes in God, in doing the right thing, being the right type of person, I am not much of a church kind of guy, I simply do my best, try to be good with everyone, be the best I can at all moments, because to me God is in the simple acts of life, not only in waiting for a miracle. Many people see God as a provider, my view, God already gave me life, talents, family, friends, love and many things more on which I have to build upon, I am the one that has to give, not Him.

Still, my intention is not to talk about religion, its to talk about love, as I always do. It was the year 2004, and I was living in a small city of Colombia, it was a moment in my life when I was searching for some kind of guidance, something divine to guide my path. I just came out of a wonderfully stormy first love of my life relationship, the type of relationship where all matters so much, where all is a drama. So in this city, I was the guy from the capital, I was the guy upon all looks where falling. I found a house, living with four other students, my room was on the second floor, window looking at the street. Across the street, another house, on the second floor it was her room. I was able to see her timidly at the beginning, then I felt comfortable enough to have conversations from window to window, why spend mobile phone minutes when you can shout? Who needs privacy anyways!

So, after some time, weeks or months, it does not matter, that girl was all the time with me, we were kissing and doing all that young lovers do. The only problem she has, was that on Saturday nights, she had to get together with what she called a community, which simply resembles a praying group to discuss the Bible and God in general. I honestly did not like that much, but in my ideal world, I took it as a sign, since I was looking for some divine guidance for my life, naive was I to think that God would send it with great curves and seductive lips.

As the relationship progressed, she wanted me to get involved within the community. I did not pay attention until I met her parents, the mother was active in the same group, while the father was somehow apathetic. There was always a feeling of tension in the air every Saturday when the couple split for the length of the reunion. That was the moment when it started to hit me. The second moment was when I met people of her group and all questioned me about if I was part of the community, and if not, when I was going to join. An uncomfortable feeling was there, but she was always there with a sweet word to calm down my nerves from the intense work of the recruiting team.

Finally as the relationship got more serious, and when you do that, people dream and talk, she said that eventually, for a life together, I would have to be part of the community. Part of something I did not believe in. That was when I saw God as a human, as someone who was driving me apart from the woman that I called mine. In that moment I felt envy, and also powerless, because I knew it was a fight I was not going to win. Even though for some reason I stayed in the relationship, trying to figure out something, I knew the end for us was written already in our destiny. She was not going to change, I was not going to do it either. For the first time in my life, I had this divine intervention, and it was an intervention, more real and human than anyone could believe.

Never the less, the important in this is the lesson learned, that even if I may not be the most religious person in the world, there must be a common base with the person I share my life, because those issues are the ones that can separate couples and create breaches within relationships. As for that woman, she taught me sweetness and caring in a noble and honest way, that today I cherish as a wonderful moment of my life.