The Christian Bachelorette

Week 7: Dallas' POV

I float up next to Adelaide and gently nudge her kayak. She glances at me with a small smile on her face, but the sparkle in her eyes is missing.

I don't have to say it to know, but I ask anyway. "What's wrong?"

Her gaze shifts upwards and her eyes close. "I-." She sighs.

"You know your answer."

She looks at me with tears in her eyes, and I smile sadly.

"Do you think you can make a deal with me?" I glance away to gather the courage. "Promise me that you will enjoy what time we have left until I leave. I'm glad to be here, and I will be okay with your decision. Let's not say anything yet because Reece needs to be completely surprised. If you feel up to it, when we get back, we can bake cookies as a 'date' so he won't suspect a thing."

"Dallas! You are the sweetest. How are you taking this so well?" She asks as she wipes tears away. "I'm a mess," she giggles.

I lean over carefully to hug her without tipping either of us over. We hear joyful shouts where we left her grandparents and Reece.

"We should probably go back," I say after releasing her.

"Want to race back?" She grins and wipes her final tears away.

I smirk before paddling as hard as I can.

I am mesmerized by her laughter as her skin glows from the flickering flames. Reece is in complete bliss from being the source of her laughter. There is no doubt in my mind that she is making the right choice. I'm glad she is enjoying herself and left her tears on the water.

A hand touches my shoulder, and I glance at Addie's grandmother. Neither of us speaks a word, but the silence is more comforting than any elaborate speech ever could be. We stand there for a while before she goes back to her seat.

It's better this way, a little lonelier, but better. A part of me wants to leave now, but I promised I would stay a little longer. I promised my mom that I wouldn't be like the other guys; I promised that I would stay and be positive until I knew Addie's decision and I walked out the door.

Sometimes our plans don't match up with God's, but God's plan is always so much better. It hurts right now because I wanted to be with Addie, but in the future, I'm going to have the woman God has picked out for me. It's hard to imagine God's plan because His thoughts are so much higher than ours. We can trust that His plan is good and so much better than we could ever imagine.

Jesus, give me the strength to stay positive and to enjoy the time that I have left here with Addie and Reece and her grandparents. Help me to accept and to be ready for Your plan. Amen.

"Dallas! What are you doing over there? Come sit and make a roast a marshmallow." Addie's grandfather calls out.

I smile and walk over after calling back a "yes, sir."

The rest of the night is spent in laughter and good conversation until it is time for us to head back. I drive Reece and Addie back to our house after we help her grandparents unload everything at their house. Addie sits in the back seat and falls asleep within minutes.

I have worship music playing softly in the background and for a while that is the only noise.

"You've been kind of quiet tonight and not like your normal self. Is everything okay?" Reece begins quietly and glances at me.

"Yeah, everything is okay. I miss my mom; I can hardly wait to see her," I reply.

"I miss my family too. This is the longest I've been away from them."

"What do you think about doing a Bible study tomorrow? We started out with one; we could end with one too." I suggest and glance at him.

He grins. "Addie would love that. Is it okay if I lead it?"

I nod. "I wanted to bake some cookies with Addie tomorrow so that will give you some time to prepare."

"Okay." He pulls out his phone from his pocket, and I turn the music up slightly.