Sometimes Lightning Strikes

The movie Meet Joe Black is truly one of my favorites and has some of the most memorable quotes of any movie I've ever seen. The story line revolves around the life of a 65-year-old man who has met the end of his days here on earth, and death has come for a visit prior to taking him away.

I have a friend who shares my love of the movie. One of the best quotes is in regard to never knowing when love may show its face, and his mantra recently has been that "you never know when lightning may strike." But isn't that just a movie? Can you truly have a real-life movie moment that is more than just that, a brief moment in the time continuum of life?

The night I met my Caribbean friend was certainly one of those chance encounters that has evolved into a very special relationship. From the moment he touched me, I knew I never wanted him to let me go, and sometimes I can still feel myself in his arms. And though we aren't physically together, our souls are interconnected for eternity...sometimes lightning does strike.

But what of less "striking" encounters - situations where you aren't exactly mesmerized with someone from the start? Can you still develop a love to span the ages? A love that makes you "sing with rapture and dance like a dervish"?

While in college, I dated a man for a few months who when I first met I rather disliked...strongly, I might add. I thought he was pompous, grandiose, and melodramatic. As I spent time with him through my program of study, though, I came to realize that our differences made him alluring in a way I had not allowed myself the opportunity to appreciate, to love. In that case, the lightning came later, much later, but when it did, it was intense and definitely knocked me off my feet. If you were to ask me the most fulfilling relationship I've ever had, and yes, I've had many, it would be that one.

So is it possible that the man I'm meant to share my destiny with is someone I already know? Can lightning only strike at the beginning, or can it come later, after the storm has been raging for quite some time?