Caught up in the Rapture

This entry may be my last. If at least some of us disappear suddenly from planet Earth this Saturday, it has been nice knowing my family and friends.

May 21 is supposed to be Judgment Day, when Jesus gathers his Christian followers into the heavens, leaving behind nonbelievers, according Harold Camping, president of Family Radio. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Camping calculates May 21 as the big day because allegedly it’s exactly 7,000 years from the date of the Noah’s Ark flood. Camping estimates that 200 million people worldwide will disappear into the heavens. The other 7 billion humans are SOL. (I’ll use the clean translation: So outta luck.) The rest may die in a massive global earthquake. (What? The 9.0 magnitude temblor in Japan wasn’t the Big One?)

Rapture watchers have pointed to signs such as the mysterious mass deaths of birds; fish dying by the thousands in Southern California waters; huge earthquakes in China, Japan, and Haiti; floods in the Midwest; the Gulf of Mexico oil spill; and global climate change.

While I follow Jesus, I don’t believe the rapture is going to happen Saturday for two reasons. First, I’ve been through this before. In 1972 a Jehovah’s Witness friend warned me to prepare for the Second Coming that year. As a naïve eight-grader whose father is a Pentecostal Christian, I not only believed my friend, I spread the news to other schoolmates. When the Second Coming didn’t come, I lost credibility with my friends. One of them broke off our friendship.

Second, I tend to agree with Mark 13:32-33 in the Bible: “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come.” (New International Version) So, if neither the angels nor Jesus Christ knows when the rapture will occur, how would a mere mortal know? After all, the Bible is not The Da Vinci Code.

But, to be safe, I will make copies of my house keys and drop them off with my siblings before Saturday so my two cats can be fed and kept safe. Although I follow Jesus, I don’t presume to believe I will be gathered up by him. Nor do I presume that my siblings and friends will die in a massive earthquake. I just hope to be ready if it happens.

Writing Diva

Carrot Cake Good. Icing Better

I'm returning to writing what my blog is supposed to be about -- my life as a single person.

For about a year I have subscribed to a free dating website called "Plenty of Fish." I had received inquiries from some men, but none had panned out.

Until 10 days ago.

Actually, this gentleman, whom I will call "S," first wrote several months ago. He is a 53-year-old divorced man who lives in Oakley, Contra Costa County. I liked his photo and what he wrote about himself in his profile. And he wrote me first.

We had been corresponding via e-mail through the website until he told me what he did for a living. He sells tobacco products. He doesn't smoke or chew tobacco. He just sells the stuff.

I came to a halt. I'm not a big fan of tobacco because my mother, who smoked for 52 years, died of lung cancer when she was 64. Moreover, I believe I contracted asthma as a result of my being exposed to secondhand smoke. So, I told S that his occupation bothered me and why it did. He stopped writing. I regretted saying what I did and missed his e-mails. But I had resigned myself to being single.

Then, out of the blue, he sends me an e-mail 10 days ago asking if I remembered him. I responded that I did and that I regretted sharing my concerns about his occupation. So, he asked if we could try again. I agreed.

We're meeting tomorrow (Sunday) at a burger joint in Rio Vista after I leave church. Oh, he doesn't attend church but said he doesn't "hold it against me" that I do.

The sentiment would be OK if it weren't for the fact that my faith may be what sabotages any chance of a relationship. The Bible teaches that Christians should not be "unequally yoked" with those who don't believe in God and Jesus Christ. While I don't expect him to be a Christian, I expect any man I date to respect my faith and values. If he doesn't, I have to move on.

I'm no goody two-shoes, far from it. My life was complicated before I recommitted myself to Christ. I'm struggling, but I want to keep my life on this path.

The other concern I have is that I'm at a good place in my life. I have my own home, two cats I love, a wonderful family of my father, stepmother, siblings, nieces and nephews, great-nephews and great-nieces, and a large network of relatives, my friends, and my church family. I have a good job that pays well and great, witty coworkers. And I'm steady in my faith. In other words, my life could be compared to a delicious carrot cake made by my sister T1. In addition to flour and sugar, there are carrots, pineapple chunks, walnuts, vanilla, and other ingredients. I don't have my cream cheese frosting, yet. But that's OK.

A loving, committed relationship with a man would be that icing. But I don't want a man with issues that I can't handle. Once I dated a bipolar man who cheated on me with another woman and got her pregnant. Another man who teaches high school has problems with alcohol. In other words, I seem to draw what a friend calls "men with negative issues." Having a man with bad issues in my life would be like having old sour cream on my cake -- not a good thing. Yuck!

I can live without having a man in my life. But it would be icing. So, I'm taking a chance when I meet S tomorrow. If it doesn't work out, that's OK. I'm going to a Cinco de Mayo dance next Saturday night. I'm working on my books and my family history. I'm meeting with friends and family. I have a wonderful cake. But I wouldn't mind some cream cheese frosting.

Writing Diva