he's actually pretty into you

First of all, let me say this. I just realized that this blog has 18 followers. Dang, mang. Thanks so much for all your love, support, and time (even if it's just a way to kill five minutes.) I really appreciate it. Seriously. :)

Okay. So.

I will admit that I am a fan of chick flicks, more formally known as the romantic comedy. I don't know why, because honestly, they're wholly unrealistic and nauseating. But there's something about them that makes them perfect for a brain-detox time and some good laughs with friends (yes, even guys.)

There is definitely an art to crafting a decent chick flick. First of all, you do not cast Jennifer Lopez as any sort of main character at all. It would be very preferable that you don't. Secondly, there has to always be some sort of tangible conflict that makes the whole falling-in-love less cheesy - that is, the two main characters should have some amount of fighting, because what better shows that you're in love but fighting like crazy at first? (It's the whole denial issue.) None of that cancer/car accident = amnesia stuff that Koreans love, though. But anyway, I definitely think - and you can disagree - there are smart chick flicks...and flat out stupid chick flicks that are bordering the crappy romance novels you find in supermarkets, right by the school supplies and shaving cream. 

The other day, I watched "He's Just Not That Into You," and I can't really make my mind up about in which category it goes - in some ways, I like the whole cliched cynical man from the bar (Justin Long) and his love-hate relationship with the ridiculously desperate and clingy narrator girl that he's counseling (Ginnifer Goodwin) ordeal. It's over-exaggerated, but it makes sense. The others on the star-studded cast (Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Aniston, Scarlett Johansson, ...Ben Affleck...) are just there, in my opinion. And the whole ending is just too predictable to be true. But something about all their messed up and entangled relationships got me thinking, which makes me conclude that it's more on the smart side than the flat out stupid side.

My very first crush in my entire life was when I was - brace yourselves - 4 years old. He was one of my mom's best friend's sons (can you follow that?) and consequently one of my closest friends as a child. We played together, we fought together, we waited for our mothers' long coffee dates to finally be over together. He always thought himself superior to me because he was 6 months older and I didn't know how to spell "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" (that's other story), but I always fought back. And somehow, we were friends. Which made me assume that I liked him. Because, when you're that young, there's a very fine line between being good friends and liking each other. Wait. There still is. 

And several confusing friendships and pseudo-relationships throughout the next fifteen years later, I realized something that was re-confirmed after watching this movie: there's only one who can make things clear and simple for me - He loves me just the way I am and shows it, without all the crazy mind games and weird sign readings and unresolved issues. And y'all know who I'm talking about.

There is a line in there that says that when guys call girls back, they are the "exceptions, not the rule." That is, guys will mostly not call 90% of girls back, but the 10% that fall in the exception category are the stories girls like to spread around to each other to console themselves. Because naturally, all girls want to be that exception for one guy. Or vice versa, I guess. But what can you do? He's just not that into you. 

Yes, I'm making a God connection to a chick flick - I'm sorry! But yeah. God loving us is the rule. And I don't know if there are any exceptions (the ones going to hell?) - but even those, I'm sure He wishes it were otherwise. He will always be into us - into our lives, into our hearts, into our beings, always waiting for us to return the affection, kind of like that one character (Kevin Connolly) who's totally attached to his best friend (Johansson)...only...He's God. So He's perfect, not pathetic.

Making God, making Jesus our boyfriends, our girlfriends is kind of the surefire way for you to find someone who will finally call you back first before you anxiously look at the phone 89374983 times, or finally Gchat you first before you change your status like every six minutes so that they'll notice you on the list, or finally seek you out to ask you for lunch or coffee. Because it shows that you don't need someone like that to fulfill you.

There is a lie in our society that is spread through vehicles like romantic comedies that say we find our completion in another person. I mean, yeah, ultimately, I guess God wants us to be completed with another being (...in His name.) But honestly? when that person decides to leave you or forget about you or hurt you, are you supposed to find yet another person to pick up the pieces? Not really. 

Sometimes, it's hard to be satisfied with just God, because He can't really talk to you on the phone until the wee hours of the morning or hold you when you're cold. But you know, when you are God-centered and you find a person with whom you can have a Christ-centered relationship, the chaos - the desperation, clinginess, loneliness will all stop. 

And all you'll be left with is just love.

That is the secret of true love. Not advice from Hitch or crazy stunts that you complete within 7 minutes to rush into the arms of your girlfriend - but just God. 

So this summer, I was given an ultimatum from God, which I will explain in another entry. But basically, it was either I love Him or I don't. I invest in Him or I don't. I put my trust in Him or I don't. God is a jealous God, and I can't believe that I learned it again from a chick flick. Sigh, my life. 

Have you set up your date with God yet?