Single, Saved, & Searching

Love was in the air, but Elisha Maxwell still felt all alone. She flipped the pages of her desk calendar back from February to December of the previous year and stared at the date she knew her sister, Charity, had realized the love of her life. It was at the Christmas gala their mother had hosted where Charity and an old boyfriend of hers, Milton, had starred in a play together. The kind of love Elisha saw that Milton had for Charity was the kind of love she wanted in her own life.
Elisha sat slumped with the sides of her face pressed into the palms of her hands and gently sighed. It had been an incredibly tough work week for her that led up to Valentine’s Day—a day she had been dreading ever since her assault from last year. She was resolved to move on, so this day was particularly hard since the new guy she had her eye on asked another woman to marry him. When Elisha met Will it had already been eight months since she had seen the likes of her abusive ex, Chauncey McDaniel. She later learned that he had left town just a day after he beat her up and knowing that he was gone gave her the relief she needed to finally move on.
Elisha replayed in her mind the conversations she and Will had that all but sealed the notion he was single. Not once did he mention that he was attached, spoken for, or in any kind of committed relationship. This man had quietly wooed her, to say the least, sharing details about his future plans when they met for the first time at the state fair last fall, calling during the holidays to bid her a Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas, in addition to texting her a beautiful salutation on New Year’s Eve. They had several out-of-town dates between the counties in which they lived where he surprised her with thoughtful gifts. She was careful, though, to wait until he confirmed their relationship status before announcing it to family and friends. Just when she thought he was going to officially ask her to be his woman a few weeks ago, Will told Elisha he was getting married. Married?

Elisha grunted as she remembered how she was beginning to fall for him. He had been the closest she had come to being in a decent relationship in a long time. In an attempt to clear Will from her mind, she spun the pages of her desk calendar back to February and powered down her computer. She bowed her head with elbows propped on her desk and prayed to God. Elisha prayed specifically for the Lord to send her a mate—her soul mate. She had always figured that God knew what she wanted, and He does, but there was something about asking Him specifically for the desires of her heart. And today her heart was set on getting married. There wasn’t a boyfriend in sight, but Elisha trusted God to know what was best for her. All she had to do was listen for and to His answer.
On this Friday afternoon, she tidied her desk in preparation to leave for the lovers’ weekend; the weekend that held nothing special for her except a marathon of television movies and bad memories of what had happened to her a year ago. As principal of the elementary school she once attended as a child, she enjoyed being at work, but the fact that every female in her office received decorative balloons, endearing cards, soft teddy bears, and special deliveries while she got nothing only made her want to leave work early.