Shooting Stars

When we're adolescents, we're magnetically attracted to the 'pretty' people: movie stars, rock stars, sports stars.  That's a normal development.  These people are all out of reach to teens but they can feel 'in love' without responsibility.  When teens mature, they're attracted to real men or real women, and go on to form loving relationships, marry, etc.  Except, some of them never mature.

Do you know any older men or women who seems to have a lifestyle of 'serial marriages' to losers?  They know they're attracted to slick alcoholics or people in trouble with the law frequently or even musicians with local bands. Barbie was such a woman.  She had an early pregnancy with a one-night stand local guitarist.  She didn't even tell him she was expecting his child until after the child was born.  Basically, she didn't want anything to do with him, gave her child up for adoption, but the agency wanted a family medical history from both parents.  He sent the history and she never heard another word from him or about him.  He was just a shooting star, flashing once then never seen again.

After that disaster, Barbie was married to a good-looking man who happened to have a serious illegal drug problem.  She knew about the drug problem when she married him and thought marriage would change him.  Wrong!  After Barbie worried their children would get hurt from his 'friends,' she divorced the jerk but it cost her an enormous amount emotionally.  Another shooting star, flashing by, even brighter, but more dangerous.

For the next several years, Barbie dated other exciting, dangerous men who took full advantage of her sexually and financially. With nothing left, Barbie has 'sworn off men.' She vows to never have another relationship, that all men are 'bad.'  I told her she's just looking in the wrong places for the wrong kinds of men.  Look in bars, what will you get? Drinkers, maybe drunks.  Look in wild, drug-laced rock concerts, what will you find?  Lots of pot-crazed idiots who think they're wonderful.

So where should one look to find decent men and women?  Decent places: churches, jobs, political rallies, charity functions, etc.  Barbie seems to be a really nice person.  I pray that women and even men like her don't give up on finding a kind, responsible person with whom to have a fulfilling relationship.  If you go for the Shooting Stars, you certainly get burned!

Lord, lead us, guide us, help us find wholesome friends and mates!