Underwater Real Estate

I once looked at real estate that may presently be two feet under water.  Some years ago I was enamored with the sights and sounds of Charleston, South Carolina and had some time to kill.  So I decided to look at condos in the area just for the fun of it.  The real estate agent toured us through a beautiful complex on James Island just minutes from Fort Sumter National Monument.  

“Only three units are left,” she cautioned us, “Two on the ground floor and one on the third.  I would hurry up and grab the one on the third floor before it’s gone.” 
“Why?  Is there any danger of flooding here?”
“No, no, not at all!  We’re five miles from the coast,” she replied quickly and then with a quiet pause added, “But it’s just a good idea.” 
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February is the month of Valentine’s and we extoll the virtue of romantic love.  But romantic love can make us throw caution to the wind.  “She’s head over heels in love.”  “He’s smitten with her. She can do no wrong in his eyes.” “ Love is blind.”  There are a host of expressions in the English language to describe this intoxicating state.  
How many times do our friends find themselves in the unenviable situation of wanting to give us a warning but also wanting not to offend us?  

How many times do our friends find themselves in the unenviable situation of wanting to give us a warning but also wanting not to offend us?

 
Will we listen to their advice?  Will we allow time to reveal more about the character of our beloved before jumping in?  Will we follow God’s advice to “not awaken love before its time?”  I interpret these age-old words to mean abstain from sexual involvement - which we all know tends to lessen discernment.  How can one dispassionately discern worrisome tendencies in the relationship when all one can think about is the curve of her hips or the look in his eyes when he draws you close?
Modern viewpoints tend to pooh-pooh sexual purity, but God’s plan for human love encompasses the whole person, including the vast recesses of the human mind.  One of my teachers years ago gave our class the best advice for quality sex, “The mind is the most important sex organ. Trust and respect are necessary ingredients for a life-long love affair.  These take time to develop and are best developed outside of sexual involvement.  Engage in sex with anything less and you’re only having semi-sex.” 
Back to my dalliance with vacation real estate, I knew there were golf clubs surrounding this lovely condo complex, but also marshy areas of wetlands and tidal flats.  Five miles away or not, the coast was close – on three sides of this area to be exact.
My mind’s eye whirled to imagine hurricanes and their effect on the lowlands of South Carolina.  “She’s downplaying the reality,” I thought to myself, “She’s giving me a warning while staying politically correct within her roll of real estate salesperson.”
Well, my whim was just that – a whim.  No condo was purchased and I went merrily on my way.  But I have followed the area in the ten subsequent hurricane seasons. Just a few days ago as I passed through an airport,  TV screens warned of twenty-two foot waves along the length of South Carolina.  I think back to that attractive condo complex and wonder, “What if it’s presently under water?  What would my reality be like now? I would be glad I bought the third floor unit!”
A word to the wise should be sufficient!