Date Nights with Abba

Valentine’s Day 2024 has come and gone, but oh what a story to tell.

Now, Valentine’s Day usually is not a big deal to me. I know it is to many people, but the way I look at it is, there are 364 other days in the year (365 in leap years) to show me how much I am loved. Don’t wait until Valentine’s Day. Love should be on display every single day of the year, right? I know it’s not practical, but that should be the goal.

But then…Valentine’s Day 2024 happened.

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As February 14 approached, I went about my usual business of buying a card for my husband, our son that lives with us, and gifts for the grandkids, as well as our two kids that don’t live across the state.

I love buying gifts for people, so it was quite fun to shop for them. With gifts ordered, it became just like any other time of the year. Then, I began to think about daddy-daughter dates.

To my knowledge, those weren’t really a thing when I was growing up. Then again, with my parents divorced – not common like today – I wouldn’t know otherwise if it was a thing or not. If they were, then I suppose I missed out. But, I didn’t know it then.

Fast forward to today, and they are a thing. Dads actually investing in their daughters’ lives, letting them know that they matter, not to mention showing them how a man should treat them is a bonafide thing.

And I think it’s great.

February 13 rolled around and I came across some social media posts about the tv show, “The Chosen”. Season 4 was in theaters.

Okay, so, if you don’t know what I’m talking about, “The Chosen” is a television show about the life of Jesus. It is a biblical adaptation taken from the Gospels, the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. From the show’s website:

The Chosen is a groundbreaking historical drama based on the life of Jesus Christ (Jonathan Roumie), seen through the eyes of those who knew him. Set against the backdrop of Roman oppression in first-century Israel, the seven-season show shares an authentic and intimate look at Jesus’ revolutionary life and teachings.

The Chosen website – FAQs section

Many in Christianity have loved “The Chosen”, while others have rebuked it and the creators for heresy. That’s another way of saying it’s “unbiblical”.

Even with this season’s offering so far in theaters, there’s been controversy. No spoilers here, but suffice to say some were not happy with the choices the show made with Jesus’ actions. “That’s not my Jesus,” I heard one person say on a YouTube video on the show’s channel.

• I highly recommend checking out the website, “The Bible Artist“. Great insight from the Christian perspective by someone who works in the industry. Kevin doesn’t shy away from critiques of the show, but he does it in a way that is both respectful and thought- provoking. He makes you think. Check it out!

Well…it is just a “show” after all, portrayed by “actors”, biblically adapted (yes), but it’s for a “show.

But, I digress.

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I avoided “The Chosen” for the first three seasons. Honest to goodness, I was one of those people who didn’t get it. I didn’t understand why we needed a tv show about Jesus. We have the Book. We have THEE BOOK about Him. All we ever wanted to know and see about Jesus is in the Bible.

That was my first thought. My second thought was that I just couldn’t be bothered with it.

Then one day…bored with the offerings on Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, I decided to watch it. While I’d love to say that I was hooked, I wasn’t at first. It took time. Part of me felt like I was being disrespectful to God for watching it.

Hear me out before laughing.

“The Chosen” slowly drew me in. I didn’t want to like it, but I found myself slowly wanting to watch it more and more. I mean, I shouldn’t, right? Everything I’m watching is in…the…BIBLE. Just read your Bible, Sunny! I would tell myself.

I did. And I also watched.

It wasn’t long before I made it through all three seasons that were available. And, then I watched it again. And again. And again. And…it’s been so many times now that I can’t remember. Now, I just pick and choose which episodes I want to watch, depending on my mood of the day.

February 13, 2024.

My mood wasn’t interested in seasons 1, 2 or 3. Season 4 was in theaters, but I didn’t want to pay for a ticket to watch something I could see for free in a few short months. I mean, we are supposed to be good stewards of our money, right?

Yeah, that actually was my through process.

“Let’s go on a date, Daughter.”

What?

“Let me take you out on a date. A Daddy-daughter date night.”

Trying to wrap my brain around the God of the universe talking to me about a date night, well, surely someone out there would think I’d lost my mind! But, that is exactly what I was hearing on Tuesday, February 13. I couldn’t bring myself to say yes.

I know. Can you believe it? I didn’t say yes to God…but I didn’t exactly say no, either. I just didn’t answer.

God knows me. He knows how I need to process things. I try not to overanalyze, or even analyze, when God speaks to me. I try, but it sounded so preposterous. Why would God talk to me about a date night? There are no Bible verses that I know of to confirm Him telling me this. And yet, He wanted to take me out on a date.

When I process things, I sometimes feel like Jacob wrestling with God. I hold on to God as long as I can until I get the answer I seek. What I seek, well, it’s truth. Am I hearing right? Did God really say….?

Ouch. Even as I type that last question, I cringe. That sounds like the Garden of Eden with the serpent setting up Eve by asking that type of a question: Did God really say….

Selah

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On the morning of February 14, I bought my ticket to see Season 4, episodes 1-3 of “The Chosen”, in the movie theater. It was for the evening showing, so it really felt like a date.

No popcorn, candy or soda. I bought a $6 bottle of water, took my seat – which was supposed to NOT be next to someone – next to a woman I did not know. It felt weird, at first. Doing something by myself in a date-type scenario. I wasn’t with my husband, yet I was on a date.

With Abba.

I was sitting in the last seat of my row, next to someone I didn’t know, and yet I felt like God was seated next to me. He made His presence known. I felt Him next to me, surrounding me…He was just…with me.

The episodes were great, but the night wasn’t so much about what I was watching as it was about two things: who I was watching it with, and the fact that I obeyed His call to go on a date. It was my very first daddy-daughter date night.

So enjoyable was it, that I called it Abba-daughter date night, and we did it again the next night for episodes 4-6 of Season 4. And tonight, I have just returned from watching episodes 7-8.

Yes, another Abba-daughter date night. It did not disappoint.

Processing – there’s that word again – while watching episode 8, I could feel God talking to me about timing. In the show, Jesus often mentioned timing. It’s not time yet, or it is time. During the episode, God reminded me of a line that the actor, Jonathan Roumie, said. “It’s time.” I gravitated toward that line in that moment. God has used those very words with me on multiple occasions to get me out of process mode and into action mode.

As I processed this, God said, “It’s time.”

“Time for what, Lord?”

Silence.

I watched the rest of the episode, ending – this isn’t much of a spoiler since it’s Biblical – with Jesus beginning to make His way to Jerusalem riding on a donkey. The spirit of God hit me strong, and I didn’t want to move from my seat.

Nearly everyone else made their way out of the theater. The Spirit of God was heavy upon me. It was as if I wasn’t fully there. I don’t know how to describe it.

It was just heavy.

The heaviness persisted even as I walked out of the theater and made my way to my car. I began to process everything – the episodes, the heaviness, as well as all that is going on in my life at the moment. What can I say? I’m a thinker.

Driving home, He again said, “It’s time.” Processing…I knew what He meant. It is time to tell to my story. My full and complete story. In private conversations or groups, I’ve talked about it in general terms, but never fully disclosing the details.

God says, “It’s time.”

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When will that be? Only my Abba knows. In the words of “The Chosen”, soon.

That’s part of why He took me on these dates. To be with Him. To listen to Him when He speaks. To talk to Him about things going on with me. It’s the foundation of any relationship, right? Being present and having conversations.

It takes – dare I say it – time to build a relationship. Although I do spend time with the Lord, He got me out of my comfort zone at home, and went to a movie. To the world, it looks like I went by myself.

To me, I went with my Abba on an Abba-Daughter date night.

I can’t wait for the next one.

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Knees Down, Prayers Up,

Sunny