SINCE TRACY'S MOVE A WEEK AGO, she had already attended a local Bible church and immediately made a new friend. She felt nervous as she waited for Emma to pick her up for Wednesday night fellowship.

As she curled her hair, picked out the right outfit, and fussed over her makeup, her heart said a thousand prayers. Tracy longed for a friend, and having had a great time at lunch on Sunday, she thought maybe Emma would fit the part. The doorbell rang. Six-thirty on the dot.

"Ready?" Emma asked.

Tracy grabbed her jacket. "let's go!"

It didn't take long to reach the home where the gathering was taking place. Emma rang the bell, but before her finger released the button, the door opened to a tall guy with a welcoming smile. For a moment Tracy felt blown over by the very good-looking man in the doorway. She quickly regained her composure as she remembered that she was not there to meet "the one." He extended his hand toward them.

"Hi. My name is Mike Hartman, and you?"

Emma confidently extended her hand. "Emma. Nice to meet you."

"Tracy Kass," Tracy said bashfully and slowly offered her hand to Mike.

Emma continued, "Are you new? I don't recall meeting you before."

"Ye-" Before Mike could finish his answer, a bubbly young girl embraced Emma and swept her into the living room, leaving Tracy alone with Mike.

"So how long have you been attending this group?" Mike motioned for Tracy to enter the house. Without giving her a chance to reply, he kept talking. "Your friend was right-I have never been here before. And can you believe they've got me answering the front door? I met some of these people Sunday at church, and they invited me to this fellowship night. It seemed like a good midweek pick-me-up." Mike stopped to catch his breath. "Sorry, I'm rattling on. What about you? Have you been here before?"

Tracy could not believe how totally comfortable Mike seemed. It made her feel more relaxed in this new environment. "No, this is also my first time attending one of these things. I just moved from Vermont, and I don't know anyone except Emma, and we just met on Sunday."

"Oh, this is cool. Someone new besides me. I just moved from Seattle. I got a job transfer and have only been here a week." He helped her take off her jacket as they walked into the living room together.

"Amazing, I've only been here a week as well." Tracy was surprised that she would meet someone with such a similar experience.

Throughout the evening they found themselves explaining over and over that they were not "together." By the end of the night it became a joke, and Tracy and Mike began acting as though they were together just to fool everyone.

Throughout the evening, Tracy and Mike talked about their moves and the new paths where God was leading each of them. Mike mentioned that he enjoyed tennis, and Tracy was excited to find someone else who liked the sport. Tracy had played on her college varsity team. Both eager to check out the local courts, they planned a tennis match for Saturday afternoon. Tracy could not believe how quickly the hours passed with singing, Bible study, and fellowship. At nearly eleven o'clock, Emma announced that she needed to leave.

Mike opened his arms for a warm hug from Tracy "I prayed that God would allow me to meet a friend, and I think He answered my prayers." Tracy felt a bit startled by this frank comment, but she accepted his hug.

"See you Saturday," she answered sweetly.

On the way home Tracy beamed with excitement; unable to erase her smile. Emma could see that Tracy and Mike had hit it off. She began firing questions. "Well, what do you think of Mike? You spent the night getting to know him. Is he good-looking or what!"

Tracy hadn't realized the attraction was so obvious. "He is really a nice guy, and we have so much in common. We're going out on Saturday"

"A date already! You go, girl!" Emma said, stunned.

Tracy was a bit taken aback. "I don't think it's a 'date' date. It's just two people going to play tennis."

"Whatever. I could see the way he looked at you. There is definitely something there," Emma replied. "You'd better call me Saturday night and give me the details!"

That night Tracy couldn't sleep for thinking about the friendly people she had met and how awesome the fellowship had been. Her thoughts kept going back to her new friend Mike. Her mind was set-she did not want to be hurt again.



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