8 years ago today, I was working a Michael W. Smith/Lincoln Brewster concert at the Fowlerville Fair.
I was 21. Single. And heavily under construction.
My life had been a train wreck. With a failed engagement, and more baggage than the Metro Airport could dream of processing, under my belt, I was working through some painful consequences for foolish decisions I had made years earlier.
But in the midst of my turmoil, God was at work. He was tenderly picking up the pieces of my broken life and was diligently assembling a trophy of His grace.
I firmly believe that in God’s infinite wisdom he allows what he could easily prevent in His power.
He, after all, can see the whole picture…we simply see a dark blotch on a canvas.
My world as I knew it had fallen apart and in the depth of my despair, I encountered a sweet Savior I had never truly gotten to know {despite having grown up in a wonderful Christian home}.
I was finally making my faith my own. Pushing on and pressing in.
I had been {mostly} single for a few years, trying desperately to get my head and heart back together. But with everyone and their neighbor attempting to hook me up with a “nice, young Christian man” {did I have “desperate: date me or I’ll die” written on my forehead?}, this day was no different.
So on said day – July 13th, 2002 – I was mentally preparing to meet a guy.
Nervous. Excited. Prayerful.
With a track record like mine, jumping into relationships wasn’t going to work anymore. I had desperately been praying that the next relationship I entered into would be “the one”. No more messing around. I had declared that it would be different next time around.
“The next guy I date will be the last guy I date”.
While every other relationship I had been in had been physical first, and then {hopefully} emotional at some point – never spiritually inclined – I needed the real thing to be different: spiritual connection first, a healthy emotional relationship developed in the process, and finally, a beautiful physical connection when the time was right.
That morning in my journal I wrote: “today there’s a chance I’ll meet Dan, Tim’s buddy from teen challenge, at the M.W.S. concert. Give me peace, help me to not wear my heart on my sleeve, to keep my heart safe in the palm of your hand, and keep my head screwed on. Wow. What a load of baggage! 🙂 Help me keep my eyes on you and truly listen to your Spirit. Let me know, as quickly as possible, whether it’s your will that he be a part of my life. Guide my steps today, and help me run from sin, and be a blessing to everyone around me. Thank you, Heavenly Father ~ you are awesome!”
God answered my prayer.
Dan from teen challenge never showed up.
But this handsome young guy from the thumb – along with his cute girlfriend – did.
While looking back at my journal, years later, I noticed I had pressed 3 flowers in the open space after that entry. Being the metaphorical thinker I am {I find meaning in the simplest of things}, I smiled at the symbolism of the heavenly love triangle…God, man, woman. Yeah, baby! Bring it on.
{Yes, I’m a dork, but that’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it}.
8 years ago, today, I met someone so different from the rest that I didn’t quite know how to understand it. While other guys couldn’t wait to get their {dirty} paws on {insecure} me, this guy was hesitant to hold my hand. I recall him telling me during our 2nd date, after I whined about it, that he didn’t want to be holding another guy’s wife’s hand…until he knew that I was the one God had for him, he wasn’t going to take any of my “pearls of purity”.
Are you kidding me? I thought they were all gone anyway. Who knew!
8 months later, on a sunset beach in Florida, he asked me to be his wife.
6 months later, I walked down the aisle to ‘Carol Ann’ {an instrumental piece by Smitty himself, fancy that} and married my best friend.
The end.
{Actually…it’s the beginning…but that’s all you get today}.
