This evening marks the 29th anniversary of what I call “The Great Kisstake.”  How or why do I remember the date? My Mom’s birthday was yesterday and my friend Cristi’s birthday is today. So…..I just happen to remember the date.

It started simply enough. I knew her. She was a nice girl from a nice enough family. She had a cute car. But she was also a witch. No. Literally. It was the black dress, the pointy hat and the red lipstick that caught my attention on Halloween. And that’s what led to my greatest kisstake only a few days later.

Eleven years later amid the debris of my life there was the haunting consolation of friends who said “We never really could see how you got together.” But I knew. It all started really simply, with a kiss. 

In retrospect, I probably knew better. There were signs to which I should have paid attention, starting with her response to my gentlemanly question “May I kiss you?” (She replied “Why?”) But a team of wild horses couldn’t have stopped me from making the kisstake. I had replaced common-sense with a different kind of sense.

Why do I write about this? Perhaps because my daughters are approaching the age where they might make a kisstake. It all came to mind as they watched one of those shows on the teenybopper channel that had a first kiss story line, and then, I remembered the caution I wish I could impress upon them.

There were other kisses, most of no significance. But somewhere along the journey there is going to be THE kiss, and that’s the one that can trip you up, so you better consider whose lips you lock because it might just lead you to a destination you regret. In my case it ultimately cost me a tremendous amount of heartache, the only career I ever wanted, and left a vulnerable spot that the enemy often attempts to exploit.  But none of it had to happen, and wouldn’t have, if I hadn’t made the kisstake.

Proverbs 4:23 says “Above all else, guard your heart…” A little kiss can be the path to the heart. Your heart is too precious. Use careful judgment, and don’t kiss every pucker that comes your way.