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PROGRAM D-7188
Fran has just met a man at a singles dinner at her church, and because he bought her a cup of coffee and asked for her phone number, she’s all excited about the potential of this relationship.
She crawls into bed, but can’t sleep. She re-lives every minute and every word, and in her imagination, the importance of the occasion grows. The next morning, she sits down with her Bible to spend some time with Jesus, but finds her mind is totally uncontrollable. Finally, she just gives up, and rushes to get off to work on time.
Several times during the day she finds herself staring at some papers, while daydreaming about David. Wonder if he’ll call tonight? Jesus tries to get her attention, but she doesn’t notice. She’s enjoying her fantasies.
She leaves right at 5:00, rushing to her car, again ignoring the presence of Jesus. The kids seem more demanding than usual this evening, and she hurries them to finish their homework, do their chores, get their baths and get ready for bed.
As she’s putting a load of laundry in, the phone rings, and Fran’s heart stops. Maybe it’s David! She rushes to the phone, and waits until it rings one more time. Then tries to casually answer, only to discover it’s not David, it’s Patsy.
“Hey, Fran, I saw you leave with that new guy—what’s his name?” Patsy asks.
“David,” Fran replies, and they chat about the past evening a few minutes. Her mother calls and wants to chat, but Fran pretends to be busy in order to get her off the phone and free it up.
Finally at 11:00 she drags herself to bed, feeling disappointed. For the first time the whole evening, she’s aware of Jesus beside her and begins to talk to him. “Lord, I was really hoping David would call,” Fran admits. “If he really was interested, don’t you think he’d call tonight?”
“Fran,” Jesus says, “I want you to think about what you’ve done since meeting David last night.
What did you think about all day?”
“David,” Fran says rather embarrassed. “And what kind of thoughts did you have? Were they true?” Jesus asks.
“What do you mean? There was nothing wrong with my thoughts, I was just kinda daydreaming, I guess. Thinking he would call, what I’d say, where we’d go, what I’d wear. Just daydreaming; no harm done,” Fran answers.
“That kind of daydreaming does some harm, Fran,” Jesus teaches her. “You see, you were allowing yourself to imagine all kinds of things based on one very short, very casual conversation. Frankly, Fran, I wouldn’t call that truthful thinking.”
It’s a painful lesson, but one Fran needs to learn about herself.