Dating-schmating!

I was reading a magazine the other day and I saw an advert for a Christian Dating Agency, and I'll be honest, my stomach sank at the sight of it. Not because I am unhappy in my single state and it served as a reminder that I am alone but instead it is because it makes me feel that I should be doing something, that unless I log on and sign up I am destined to remain a spinster because I didn't make the effort. Of course I realise that I cannot expect to meet anyone unless I get out of the house but my social life is the most healthy and balanced that it's ever been, I genuinely like the way I look and am simply enjoying life. Therefore it begs the question, do I need to bother with internet dating? If my current success rate is anything to go by probably not. In the three years I have been a member of a Christian site, I haven't had one date, not one, zero, zilch. In addition the men I think are the most interesting never write back, even if it is them that contacted me in the first place!
Of course this is a free site and perhaps it would be different if I joined a subscription one. However I am loathed to pay money to a cheesy looking site with no guarantee of finding a potential mate. All this said, the main objection that I have to Internet dating is that I hate it. There, I've said it out loud (well in print) and it feels like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. Many is the evening that I have sat in front of my PC trawling through countless sites and profiles and I mutter to God that 'I hate this' and inevitably His retort is 'then why are you doing it?', my reply through firmly clenched teeth is 'to show willing' And theres the crunch. When you are 30 something and single there is a feeling that you need to work in order to find a partner, that somehow because you are still on your own, you have to put extra effort in. Seemingly doing the normal things like getting out there, being open to opportunities and enjoying life aren't enough, that you're still single because you haven't had a strategy. I wonder how many Christian couples that met and married in their 20s did so through Internet dating? I'm no statistician but I suspect the figure isn't very high. My main issue with it is that I hate the lack of spontaneity, the time consuming drag of it all with no end result and the difficulty it poses for a girl like me who loves banter and seeing a sparkle in a man's eyes, those are huge draws for me on the attraction front and Internet dating just doesn't cut it for me.
So, I've decided - no more feeling guilty because I haven't been online, I'm going to trust the greatest dating agent in the world - the LORD himself and see if He can't come up with the goods. After all He's been match making for thousands of years......