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the romantic arena, I am rather slow. At the end of our first "date," she surprised me by hugging me. I had never been hugged before. I did not know what to do with my arms. I did not know if I should stand there or if I should say something. At the time nothing really came to mind so I just stood there saying nothing.
• The frightening thing about this first hug was I could not sleep all night long. I had no idea what it meant and I did not know what I was supposed to do. What would I say to this young lady when I met her the next day? How could I look her in the eyes?
• I am not sure if I have ever gotten over that first hug after all these years. The thing I did not realize at the time was, every kiss begins with a hug. Forget Kay, whoever she is.
• Then, the inevitable happened.
• We had concluded our "date," and I took her over to the doorway of the dormitory where she lived. All of a sudden, at least from my perspective, she rose up on her tippy toes and kissed me right on the lips. Then she turned around and went away into the dorm, leaving me standing on the porch not knowing what happened or what to do next.
• It was February and just a week away from Valentine's Day. I had my Valentine's Day present and my dilemma was, what do I now give her in return? What in the world could ever top a kiss?
• Being a naïve young gentleman, I did not possess the resources to process this sort of problem. I had never bought anybody a Valentine's Day present in my life. What did they really look like?
• After some soul-searching and wallet rumbling, I bought her a heart-shaped box of candy. When I presented it to her, she was thrilled and kissed me again. What do I have to do now? Do I buy her another box of candy?
• The next few hours were rather foggy to me and even the next couple of days. By the end of Valentine's Day, I discovered I was engaged to be married and it all started with a hug.
• The apostle Paul put it best when he wrote, "And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity" (1 Corinthians 13:13).
• A kiss is an expression of love. It is not so much the kiss as what comes after that kiss; a relationship that gets better and better every year.
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• Rev. James L. Snyder is pastor of the Family of God Fellowship, PO Box 831313, Ocala, FL 34483. He lives with his wife, Martha, in Silver Springs Shores. Call him at 1-866-552-2543 or e-mail jamessnyder2@att.net. His web site is www.jamessnyderministries.com.
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