By: Obed Pineda

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before; love isn’t always on time. Ok, ok you caught me. I am actually quoting Toto; the band, not the dog. Even though I am not a fan of the song, I will admit that Toto got it right when it comes to me, at least according to my father, multiple tías and tíos, cousins, Church family, and several, several others in my life. Legend tells of rumblings and whispers heard among crowds who sought to solve that seemingly unsolvable riddle that frequently wondered, “When will Obed finally find himself a wife!?” It is very likely that many had already lost hope that this puzzle would never be solved; including this author. Truth be told, I had genuinely tried to find that right lady, but for one reason or another always fell short of crossing over that finish line. After surviving the most difficult heartbreak of my life (with the support of my family; spiritual and biological), I was convinced that perhaps the single life was better suited for me since it would allow me to dedicate more of my time and focus to my passion: preaching and teaching God’s Word. I had been officially preaching for the Southeast Church of Christ in San Antonio, TX for four years when I made my peace with this outcome. At least I had convinced myself I had, not knowing that my “resolve” would be tried by fire about three years later.

The small town of Kyle is about an hour north from San Antonio, where the Buda/Kyle Church of Christ is located. In the summer of 2022, it was in this small Texas town where my bachelorhood would find its greatest opponent; a 4 foot and 11 ¾ inch girl from the Bay (trust me, it is vital to include the ¾). Different congregations of the Church of Christ from the south Texas area had agreed to begin the now yearly Summer Youth Nights, and on this particular June Friday night, it was Buda/Kyle’s turn to host the event. I had volunteered to drive our youth group from Southeast to the event in Kyle and, as we drove there, I had instructed our teens to meet teenagers from the other congregations and make the attempt to create new friendships. I told them that although I would let them go on their own, I would keep a watchful eye on them so it was imperative that they were on their best behavior. When we arrived to the church building, I ran into my dear friends, Fred and Karen Starks, and we all sat together. After class, we were directed to the fellowship hall where dinner was being served, and as I stood in line with Duke (aka Fred) I began to scan the room for my youth group. When I located them, my gaze was immediately intrigued by the beautiful young lady that was sitting at the table with them, prompting my inward man to express with awe, “Whoa…she’s cute,” quickly followed by the sound of cold steel handcuffs being clasped on my wrists that snapped me out of my daze. Allow me to explain. The event was a youth event which meant that the average age of those in attendance was very likely below eighteen; hence the immediate sound of handcuffs was meant to dissuade me from making a very inadvisable and unwise choice, because the young lady who had arrested my attention, appeared to be younger than eighteen. So, having averted my eyes away from the young lady who arrested my attention (and avoided serious trouble) Fred and I sat at the table nearest to the desert table. Some time had passed, when that same attractive young lady approached our table, on her way to grab some desert, when Fred suddenly asked, “Who are you?” The girl, caught by surprise by Fred, promptly answered, “Hi, I’m Char.” “That’s….an interesting name,” and I continued to pay attention, without giving a hint that I was, indeed, listening to their conversation. I continued to carry on my conversation at the table when Char’s answer to Fred’s next question really perked my ears up: “So, have you put on Christ as your Lord?” “Oh, yes, I have been baptized already. I have been a Christian for more than 15 years.” It was in that moment that my mathematical mind uncovered something magnificent. If she had been a Christian for more than fifteen years, that means that she had to be much older than eighteen. There was no way that she was baptized at the age of three, and if she was at least thirteen (like I was when I got baptized) that would mean she’s at least 28 years old! Handcuffs unlocked. Still, I had to continue to play it cool so that I wouldn’t let them see that I had been tuned in to their conversation the entire time. Char finally went back to her table with her desert in hand, when Fred then turned to me and asked, “Say man, I didn’t see a ring on that finger. You think she’s married?” “I don’t know Fred. I’ve never met the girl.” “Want me to ask her for you?” For some reason, Fred’s question made me smile, but in a nervous kind of way. So I did the only logical thing that any respectable man would do; I deflected the question and said, “Fred, you are going to do whatever you have already decided to do bro, and I won’t stop you.” “Wait here my brotha,” and off he went. A few minutes later, as I was talking to some preacher friends, suddenly, a mischievous grin appeared on all their faces as they watched what was unfolding behind me. I turned to see if I could identify what the source of their mischief was, when I noticed Fred walking toward me, like a man on a mission, with Char at his side. My eyes widened in shock as I realized that had there been popcorn available, all these friends would have grabbed some to watch what was about to happen next. Fred approached me, placed his big paw he calls his hand on my shoulder, and said, “Char, this is Obed, he’s never been married, doesn’t have any kids, he’s single, he’s a Christian, and he’s a preacher.” “Obed, this is Char, she’s never been married, doesn’t have any kids, she doesn’t have a boyfriend, and she’s a Chistian. Now you two exchange numbers and get to know each other” and he walked away. Still paralyzed by the shock of what had just happened, I began to stutter incoherently (all the while, Char, is giggling at watching me being at a loss for words) until finally I remembered how to speak and said, “I am so sorry. I did not know he was going to do that.” Char, being gracious, with a gorgeous smile replied, “That’s ok, you don’t have to feel bad.” Remembering what I had just learned about her age, I finally regained my composure and formally introduced myself and we began to talk. After finding it easy to speak to her, I knew I wanted to stay in contact with her, but was not sure how to go about asking her for her phone number in front of her older sister (who was not too happy with a stranger talking to her baby sister) and because I was still nervous. So, once again, I did what any true gentleman would do in my position; I gave both ladies my business card and told them that if I could ever be of service, to just give me a call. I know, smooth…right? Needless to say, I didn’t hear from the beautiful young lady and figured I had dropped the ball, again. Besides, I told myself as a way of self-consolation, I have already made my peace with staying single in service of the Lord.

A week or two later, at a picnic, from out of the woods I heard an excited shout say, “OBBEEEED!” I recognized the voice at once, and this time my eyes did not give me away as I calmly turned in the direction of the voice and with a warm smile replied, “Hey, what’s up?” We kept running into each other that day, and finally that night, during a fireworks show, we had a real chance to talk naturally without pressure and we both found it really easy to carry on a conversation with one another. When the time had come that she had to leave, without thinking twice I told her, “Hey, I really liked talking to you tonight. I’d like to get to know you better, if that’s ok with you. Do you mind if I call you sometime?” “Sure. I still have your business card here somewhere..” “I have my phone right here, and if you’d like, you can just give me your number and I can text you so that you’ll know it’s me.” She agreed and for the next nine months the chase began until I was able to prove myself a true friend to her, then became her boyfriend, and then after a year of being in a relationship as boyfriend and girlfriend, I proposed to her on the boat that takes you into the horseshoe of the Niagara Falls, to which she romantically replied with a playful glimmer in her eyes, “Sure, why not? It’s going to happen sooner or later.” Naturally, I asked her again because I wasn’t sure if that was a yes or a no, but I am sure you now know what her answer was. So kids, the moral of this story is always have a good friend named Fred with you, and if he asks “Want me to ask her for you?” be ready for when he puts you on the spot, have your business card ready to give her, and be ready to prove yourself a true friend first. You never know if you’ll be next inside the horseshoe of the Niagara Falls, in that right moment. Just remember, the right time is on God’s time…so never lose hope.

From,

Obed Pineda