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Transcript

My Crazy Date Stories — Remastered: From Awkward to Almighty · HAVE FAITH LET IT BEGIN®

• 0:49
  Good morning, everyone, and welcome to Have Faith, Let It Begin.
• 0:53
  It is the ninth season. It is episode number two.
• 0:57
  We are trademarked, and welcome to another episode of Have Faith, Let It Begin.
• 1:01
  My name is Angel Santana, and today I want to talk to you about something that
• 1:06
  has been on my heart over the last few weeks.
• 1:09
  Many of you heard me mention that I am bringing back one of the most requested
• 1:13
  series in the history of this podcast.
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  You know it. I know it. as the crazy date stories.
• 1:21
  Now, when I first started sharing those stories years ago, I told them because
• 1:25
  they were funny. Some of them were awkward.
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  Some of them were unbelievable. And honestly, some of them were downright crazy.
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  But recently, I've been going back through the archives and I've been listening to those old episodes.
• 1:41
  I've been reading old notes. I've been reading and revisiting a part of my life
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  that feels like a lifetime ago.
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  And something interesting happened. I realized those stories aren't really about
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  dating. They're about the journey.
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  They're about the road that eventually led me to my wife. Looking back now,
• 2:01
  you know, when I recorded those stories for the first time, I was telling them
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  through the eyes of a younger version of myself, a guy who was still trying to figure things out.
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  A guy who was wondering why things weren't working. And a guy who wasn't,
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  well, who couldn't see the bigger picture.
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  Today, I'm in a different place. I mean, come on. I'm a husband, right? I'm a father.
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  And I'm an elder in my church. And I'm studying for ministry.
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  And when I look back at those same stories now, I don't see failure.
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  I see lessons. I see growth. I see moments where God was teaching me things
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  I didn't understand at the time.
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  There were dates that ended before they even began.
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  There were dates that ended in embarrassment.
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  There were dates that left me confused. And there were moments that made me
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  question whether I'd find the right person.
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  But I have learned a lot of lessons along the way. Here's what I've learned.
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  Just because a chapter doesn't make sense while you're living it doesn't mean
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  it doesn't have a purpose.
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  Over the next several weeks, you're going to be hearing stories about the girl
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  who left a restaurant through a side door without saying goodbye.
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  The night I thought I got shot in a parking lot. Yeah, you heard me right.
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  The woman who showed up to the date with her mother.
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  The roommate who stole my date.
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  The roller coaster breakup. The emergency room visit.
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  A whole lot more is coming. And trust me, some of these stories are going to
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  make you laugh. Some might make you shake your head.
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  And some may leave you wondering how in the world that I survived my 20s and early 30s.
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  As funny as these stories are,
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  they're also reminders that life rarely unfolds the way that we expect.
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  You know, there are people listening today who may or may be walking through
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  a part of their life that doesn't make any sense.
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  Maybe you're dealing with disappointment. Maybe a door closed that you thought
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  you would stay open. Maybe a relationship ended.
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  Maybe a job opportunity fell through.
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  Maybe you're asking yourself the same question that I've asked myself many years
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  ago. Why is this happening?
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  The truth is, most of us don't understand the purpose.
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  Of feeling seasoned, I should say, or feeling experienced until we're looking
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  at it from the other side.
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  Even if those stories had ended differently, I probably would have never met my wife.
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  And of course, even if one of those disappointments had worked out the way I
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  wanted it, my life could have taken a completely different path.
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  Sometimes God is protecting us when we think he's denying us.
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  Sometimes God is redirecting us when we think we're lost.
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  And sometimes the story that frustrates us today becomes a story we laugh about tomorrow.
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  So here's what I've decided to do. I know I promised all of you a crazy date story today.
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  Instead of simply reposting those old episodes, I'm rebuilding them.
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  I'm rebuilding them with better audio, rebuilding them by telling it in a better
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  storytelling environment, new reflections, and a new perspective that only comes with time.
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  Because now I'm just telling you what happened. I'm telling you what I learned.
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  And that series will be called My Crazy Date Stories remastered.
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  And I cannot wait to share it with all of you.
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  So let me close with this. I know I made your promise, but I want to do it right.
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  As I look back now, I realize something. I wasn't just looking for love.
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  I was collecting stories, stories that would one day make me laugh,
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  stories that would strengthen my faith, stories that would teach me patience,
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  and stories that would eventually lead me to the woman God had planned for me a long, long time ago.
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  And maybe that's where we are today. Maybe you're in the middle of a chapter
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  that doesn't make sense.
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  So don't rush the ending. Don't give up on the story.
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  God may be still writing something beautiful that you simply can't see yet.
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  Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for closing today's chapter,
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  but really beginning a new one. Thank you for every chapter in our lives.
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  The good ones, the difficult ones, the confusing ones, and even the ones we'd rather forget.
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  Help us trust you when we cannot see the full picture. And of course,
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  help us remember that you're always working, even when we don't understand the path ahead.
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  Give us patience, wisdom, faith, and keep moving forward.
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  And remember, remind us that your plans are always greater than our own.
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  In Jesus' name we pray, amen. So may God be with you. May he shine his light
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  upon you and grant each and every single one of you peace on earth.
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  With God's blessing in mind to yours.
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  Never forget that God loves you, God believes in you, and God will never leave your side.
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  My name is Angel Santana. Until next time, never forget, have faith, let it begin.