“To see my ex-boyfriend.”
“Why?” I asked.
“ ’Cuz he wants to try to get back together,” she replied,
reservation in her voice.
I couldn’t help myself. I powered through the next question
even though we’d only known each other for sixty seconds—
and I hadn’t even asked her name yet: “Are you going to sleep
with him?”
She didn’t hesitate. “Probably.”
I couldn’t stop myself and asked her yet another question:
“Why?”
“I don’t know,” she responded in a very despondent tone of
voice.
I instantly knew why I was on that plane and in that seat. I
was God’s messenger, an ambassador of the living, loving
God. I had a very similar story that I knew would resonate with
her life. In fact, I had recently returned to working with
students after years away, though I was resistant to the idea
for all kinds of selfish reasons. But as I sat next to this scared
young woman, I knew my words would penetrate right through
her heart. I could speak honestly about my own painful and
shameful experience as a student—looking for love by sleeping
with men. I could tell her that I believed that this rendezvous
was only going to steal her ability to experience true intimacy
with God and others.
So I said, “I don’t think that’s a very good reason to go
sleep with an ex-boyfriend. If you were my daughter, I would
tell you to get off this plane and go back home.”
She sighed. “My mother told me to go and have a good