Isn’t it funny how you always think you can order clothing or shoes online until you receive them and remember why you can’t? Because whatever it is, it’s always a bit too narrow or too wide, a bit to grey or to bright, a bit odd shaped or something else occurs you didn’t see in the pictures or you couldn’t know from the description.
The other day I ordered running shoes because I didn’t have time to go shopping for them, and they looked perfect online. Not too flashy, the right size, all was well. Or so I thought. Until I opened the box and there was limegreen and pink yelling at me. Not that I didn’t see that in the pictures, but there it didn’t look half as bright as it did in real. And the size, ah well. It was ok at first, but after a mile of running they turned out to be too small. But I ran through mud and puddles and all of that, so returning was not an option anymore.
This happens to me too often to trust what I see online, and to remind me to always try things out for real, preferably before I bought them. It also reminded me of how often internet dating can be such a complete failure. Because what looks good online can turn out to be a lot different in real. We think we know all there is to know about a person from their dating profile, until we meet up with them and they turn out to have a nasty accent, or a have grown a hideous beard, or turn out to be completely obsessed with their mom. Things you don’t see online. And there’s an endless list of such things.
So next time you go online ‘shopping’ on a dating site, remember not to fall in love with a profile, not to buy into what you see before you have actually in real life met with the person behind the profile. Dating isn’t getting married! So you’re not stuck to this person like I am to my flashy, too small running shoes. Count your blessings.
Aukelien Van Abbema is a singles and couples counsellor, public speaker, and successful author, including the title Dare to Date.
Helping people with Christian dating, relationships, singleness in church, dating in church, loneliness, connectedness, christian connection, healthy relationships.
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