A Trip to the Video Store

Andi and I returned some rented movies to the local video rental store (we are apparently the only people who have not yet done the Netflix thing) and we were lured into checking out the rather large "previously viewed DVD" section by the rather attractive "50% Sale sign." The movies were already priced at $7.95, so I politely asked if the 50% sale was already marked on the price tag or if it was additional 50% the marked prices. The lady proudly told me that it was another 50% off, so Andi and I agreed to pick one movie each and we were excited at the prospect of purchasing two DVD's for under $10.

It was in the picking out, and the getting excited at our individual finds, that struck a chord with me. You see, I was immediately drawn to the "Land of the Dead" dvd that was calling out my name. George Romero is a horror hero of mine, and this was the 4th installment of his "dead" series, which goes all the way to the instant 1968 classic "Night of the Living Dead" and also includes my favorite of the films, "Dawn of the Dead." (recently remade by the way, and done surprisingly well.) If I lived anywhere near Pennsylvania, I would do whatever it takes to be in a "dead" film.

Anyway, after letting Andi in on the good news that I was going to complete my Romero series for about $5, I noticed that she had picked out a movie as well. She held up the dvd "Just Like Heaven." We realized how funny the situation was, that we were both so excited about completely different movies in every way imaginable. The scenario got me thinking about how the story of my last 5 years, complete with a near death broken heart experience, is bold and thankful testimony of the providential wisdom of God.

Andi and I should have never met. I should not have been back in Nashville. We were from very different denominational backgrounds (not so much theologically as much as practically). She held different political views than I did. And then the real kicker, she couldn't watch even a second of a horror film, something that was a big part of my free time entertainment. But none of that mattered. Nothing in my life has been more clear than the protective hand of God that painfully worked in my life at one point in order to eventually move me toward the person who I was to spend the rest of my life with. I underestimated the will that God had for my life and came very close to making a monumental mistake, something that many, if not most people make when it comes to relationships. Why God refused to let me make that mistake, I don't know. But He did. And I am now experiencing life like I never thought possible.

You can now go vomit with disgust. But that's just the way it is. And I am happy to let you know about it!