Location, Location, Location?

In one week, I'll be moving to a new city on the opposite side of the country - specifically the Tampa Bay area. Originally, I hail from Buffalo, NY, spent time in Grove City, PA while going to school and have now spent three years on the "Borderland" in El Paso. In two weeks, I start a new exciting television job. I'm not married. I'm not dating anyone and haven't for a long time.

Today, several things were brought to my attention. A friend who lives in Florida called and we were talking about relationships. He said that the situation wasn't "me" per say, but more the situation. Lack of options due to geography. First of all, the job I just left involved working in a building that employed less than 50 people and I never left the building. I also spent two years working overnight, and I saw maybe five people in one day. The weekends were my only chance to get out. Then six months ago, that was taken away also. This friend had a point. In my (formerly) current situation, there were very little opportunities to meet a Christian guy. Especially recently, since I could no longer attend church on Sundays.

We made a $100 bet over the phone. He wagered that I would get involved with someone by the years end. I wagered the opposite. Okay, kind of movie-like in a "She's All That" kind of way, I know. But I'm still interested in seeing who wins.

While saying farewell to a coworker (one who has worked as a youth pastor) he told me that I was going to fall in love and get married there. He just knew it. I laughed at him. The other freaky thing? A former roommate once had a dream that I was engaged to an Air Force man. Oddly enough, I'll be living blocks away from MacDill Air Force Base.

On a slightly different topic, I've made another observation. Every wedding I've been invited over the past year all involve grooms named David. And I was just introduced to a friend's twin sister who is also marrying a David. Is this a strange phenomenon or what? I'm not sure how to take it. Based on all these revelations, I could come to the conclusion that I will soon start dating an Air Force guy named Dave before ringing in 2008. Again, this is a bit too cinema-like for me. It's slightly freaky, actually.

But back to this location theory. I'll admit, El Paso is not a hotbed for potential dudes for me. It's just not. I'm constantly hit on by overweight divorced middle-aged Mexican men with seven kids. Not that I have anything against them, but that's probably not what God has in store for me. If it is the case, I'm converting to Judaism.

This transition is exciting and I'm really quite curious to see if my personal life does, in fact, change. What makes me skeptical is that, despite having already lived in three different parts of the country for a significant amount of time, that hasn't seemed to make much of a difference before. Why should it now?

This reminds me of my teenage years. When I was in middle school, I liked boys. None of them seemed to like me. I figured "it'll happen" in high school. So then I got to high school. Same story. I then concluded that "it'll happen" in college. Spent most of freshman year wondering if I was wearing some sort of male repellent without my knowledge. After a somewhat brief disappointing relationship, I then started to question whether "it'll happen" post-graduation. It has not. This is why the whole new city thing isn't exactly getting my hopes up in that area.

And what if I do meet someone there as some are predicting? I'd like to think I'd be able to conduct myself in a serious relationship... but the truth? I've never had one before. That definitely scares me. I almost think maybe it is better to marry young, before you're too set in your ways. What if I'm too old to learn new tricks? What if I'm so used to bachelorettehood that I just can't do it?

We'll never be able to explain what's really behind the mysterious shroud that is, indeed, love. Whether it's best when it grows over time, or is sparked in a moment when two pairs of eyes meet by chance. All I know is if I happen to run into an Air Force mechanic named Dave, I may run screaming in the opposite direction.

Gender Disparity in the Church

I came across an interesting article in Christianity Today about singleness in the church:

But then I looked at the research. In 2000, the Barna Research Group found in a nationwide survey that 60 percent of adherents to Christianity are women. The survey also looked at the number of each gender whose beliefs identified them as born-again Christians. Based on the results, Barna estimates there are currently between 11 million and 13 million more born-again women than born-again men in the U.S.

But what's startling is not just the gender disparity among Christian adherents; it's also the difference between men who believe and those who are actually active in their belief. Although 36 percent of men in the Barna survey were identified as born-again believers, only 14 percent attend Sunday school, 13 percent belong to a small group, and 9 percent have held any leadership position in a church. Each category's percentages were substantially higher for women.

It's an interesting article, and it does try to offer solutions.