Then the king gave orders, and Daniel was brought in and cast into the lions’ den. The king spoke and said to Daniel, “Your God whom you constantly serve will Himself deliver you.”
3 or 4 years ago, when my sister lived in Athens Georgia, she was dating a young illegal immigrant who worked different jobs to send all the money back home to his family, & my sister, she was sure she loved him. She wasn’t in school there, tho, & when she decided to go to art school in Boston, she was worried about what would happen between herself & her boy. I remember she spoke with my mom about it & my mom expressed her belief that there is someone for everyone in the world & you will know you have found the someone if they’re always there, coming back again & again after everything else in life. If my sister’s boy was the One, he would be for her, waiting until she got back. It caught me off guard because I had never thought about love that way. I thought it was a storybook suger-cookie idea, & I didn’t expect my mother to be one to say she believed in the concept of the One.
I thought about it a lot, & I still think about it a lot, & I think as of this point, I do believe in a mate meant just for you. It’s endearing to have to be on yr toes all the time when it comes to love, always wondering if that girl or boy whom you never say hi to on campus walk or in the cubicle next door is going to be yr partner someday. It’s like playing cards with yr heart, waiting for it to take its turn & getting really frustrated cos they’re one of those who take forever to take their turn. But when they do make their move, it’s a big one & they win. That’s how I like to think of it, at least.
As for Portrait of Jennie, I think this mystifying relationship of uncertainty is what keeps the story moving along. Not knowing when his lover is going to show up next, but willing to wait for an enternity to find out, this is what keeps you flipping the pages & really wanting for Eben to find his true love in Jennie. It doesn’t matter to me if she’s real or not, or how it’s possible that she’s real. I think the point is that it’s Love with the capital L, that it’s the One with the capital O, & that it’s Forever with the capital F.
Oh, & my sister? She broke up with her boy.