Dating & Relationships

This April a British technology pioneer by the name of Kevin Ashton created a fictional Mexican social media guru. Ashton spent $50 (£33) on buying ‘Santiago Swallow’ 90,000 Twitter followers and creating a Wikipedia page for him. The process took just two hours, but it fooled thousands of people across the world.

For Christmas one year, I got more than I’d bargained for. I was unceremoniously dumped by my fiancé. We’d been together for some years, so it came as a tremendous shock when, just as we were finally planning the whole wedding-and-babies thing, he announced out of the blue that it was all off. It turned out my replacement was already waiting in the wings, although he was too cowardly to tell me himself.

‘How will I ever get together with someone, HopefulGirl?’ wailed my friend. ‘Last time I accepted a date, I was so nervous, I cancelled at the last minute!’

Many of us struggle with first date nerves, especially if we haven’t been on one for some time. When I joined the Christian singles scene after the end of a long-term engagement, I hadn’t been on a first date for nearly a decade. I couldn’t even remember how the whole dating thing worked, and I was pretty sure the rules had changed since I was last single.

The words blind, unconditional and even Courtney are all possible prefixes to the word ‘love’. But one prefix to always be avoided is ‘cheap’.
Love is not cheap. True love is costly. Self-sacrifice is at love’s core. Putting your wishes to one side for the good of another person is true love.
So if your motive for discovering a ‘cheap date’ is because you hate spending money on anyone but yourself, this article isn’t for you.

Having been married only a year and a half, I’ve recently come to the conclusion that marriage isn’t for me.

Now before you start making assumptions, keep reading.

I met my wife in high school when we were 15 years old. We were friends for ten years until… until we decided no longer wanted to be just friends. I strongly recommend that best friends fall in love. Good times will be had by all.

Break-ups are hard and painful. There’s no other way to put it. When a relationship ends, whether or not it was a mutual decision, it can be difficult to deal with the thoughts of rejection, disappointment and broken dreams that can set in. Over the years I’ve learnt that the feelings and emotions that one experiences after the break-up of a relationship can be dealt with appropriately and there is light at the end of the tunnel.

‘Nice to meet you, HopefulGirl. My name is ShyMan.’

As I arrived at the Christian singles event, my eyes alighted on a cute chap by the bar. He wore a slightly nervous expression, and I could tell he was out of his comfort zone, which instantly warmed me to him. Later, as I chatted with a group in the garden, he appeared in the doorway. I beckoned him to join us. He looked over his shoulder to see if I was targeting someone behind him. Cute and modest! Eventually, ShyMan and I separated from the group for a one-to-one chat. He was quiet but friendly, and I fancied there might be a little connection between us.

OK, let’s get to down to business. It’s safe to assume you’re here because you don’t want to fly solo any more. You’re proactive, not just waiting for God to drop the perfect partner into the seat next to you on Sunday.