She, in this story, was Lucy**. Lucy was one of my classmates. I had known her all of my life.

We, of course, had never been friends.

You see, while I was still at a relatively young age, I
entered into an unspoken agreement with the girls at both my school and church.

That agreement was simple: I wouldn’t talk to them and they would not talk to me. As the years passed all parties remained
rigidly committed to the particulars of this contract.

Granted, there were times when it was violated for various
reasons. However, such offenses as
saying, “Excuse me,” or “Would you please pass the glue?” were often seen as
less egregious than being rude.

Needless to say, as the years passed, I grew less and less
satisfied with the terms of our agreement. I wanted to talk to girls. And I
wanted them to talk to me.

However, I was without the powers of negotiation to propose
a new accord that would be beneficial for all parties.

I wanted to talk to girls: but I was too socially awkward to know how.

I wanted girls to talk to me: but their unswerving commitment to the original treaty had not
seemed to diminish or waver over the years. They still weren’t that interested
in talking to me.

Then Lucy stepped through the red tape, alighted from the
mountain, and spoke to me.

Not only did she speak. She was asking me out! I
was
incredulous, intimidated and excited in one moment. I had broken
through to the other side. Girls now found me appealing and were
clamoring to spend time
with me.

Should I hold out for other inquiries for my time?

Should I play hard to get and tell her I was busy?

Should I pretend like I couldn’t speak English to avoid the
likelihood of embarrassing myself?

No, none of these were worthwhile options. My answer? Honesty. I wasn’t doing a thing on the night in
question.

I was totally free.

Unbooked.

I can pencil you in. Name the time.

“I’m having a surprise birthday party for my boyfriend,
Bobby. I know the two of you are
friends. Would you like to come?”

Oh.

It was one of those acceptable violations again. Politeness trumps the no-speaking rule.

Needless to say, I went. Bobby was after all, my friend. I had a great time.

Lucy gave me a ride. (I couldn’t drive yet.) We
started to talk. I can’t remember
saying anything embarrassing.

I was still a few months away from becoming semi-coherent
around girls. But this event started
the ball rolling.

In the meantime, I was happy to have been invited.

Just to have been included. Just to have my presence matter was important.

Maybe you know somebody who needs to be invited.

Who needs a place to belong.

Who is looking for connection and relationships.

Who needs to know the Lord.

Maybe they just need to be invited.

February 5^th is Bring a Friend Sunday. That is just 1 week from today.

Won’t you break the silence and invite someone?

It may make all the difference.