God's perfect undoing: MY LOVE STORY

As late Spring became early Summer of 2002 my life appeared to finally be on-track. I was growing in my faith and had recently been accepted as a transfer student to the University of Kentucky where I would continue to pursue a degree in education. I had also begun dating a Christian musician and we had started talking about marriage. My path seemed perfect and clear. However, around the same time, a little over a mile away, things were beginning to fall apart for a young man named, Andrew. He had been running from the Lord for a number of years and had recently been rocked to his core by the tragic, near-death motorcycle accident of a life-long friend. As a result, he was beginning to question the path he had chosen and was feeling pulled back to "the Church". Back to the Lord. It was in the midst of these two very different seasons that Andrew and I had our first encounter. And, oh what an encounter it was...

Sitting in the backseat of the work van I didn't have a great view of the 2 guys we were picking up. The crew this Summer was lean and there were only 6 of us tasked with painting and repairing the roof of a house our boss owned. So, we weren't crazy about adding 2 extra guys. One of the guys, the younger one, wore a hat. Upon entering the van, he promptly pulled, said hat, down over his face and, I assumed, fell asleep. Must've been a rough night, I thought to myself. He didn't even look at us!? At the work site I learned the two "extra guys" were actually the boss's grandsons, Andrew and Michael. Taking a better look, I noticed that the 'hat wearer', Andrew, was pretty cute. He had a chip on his shoulder, for sure. And he didn't smile very often, but he was definitely good looking. As I introduced myself, I couldn't tell if he was just a jerk or simply ready to be anywhere but here. Either way-I was not impressed. I would later learn that I, apparently, had left just as impressive an impression on him. I believe he used words like, "know-it-all" and "bossy"; "annoying" and "chatty", to describe me after those first few days. Needless to say, I was not making wedding plans after this first encounter. Little did I know that God had just introduced me to the love of my life and that within 2 months I would be ready to throw away my plans and marry him.

Well, first impressions aside, Andrew and I actually got along quite well. After working together for a few weeks, we realized we actually had things in common. We were both driven and had very similar work ethics-which made working together easy and honestly, fun. We had both matured earlier than our peers, although for very different reasons, and were self-starters and internally motivated. We were also quite different. As I said above, I was a little too bossy and talkative for his taste. And he was still a little too rude for mine. But God, in his infinite wisdom, kept putting us in the same space until eventually we realized that we actually liked being together. In those early days we were sometimes together 5 or 6 days at a time working on a traveling crew. This gave us the rare opportunity to get to know each other-well, in a short period of time. We would often take long walks after dinner and talk about our lives and our families. And, inevitably the conversation would always turn to God and who we each thought Him to be. Andrew had more questions than I had answers but sharing my faith with him seemed to help. And, as we became closer I could feel the Lord changing my heart toward Andrew. Until one day, I realized that I was beginning to see him as more than a friend. And suddenly the "clear path" I was on-started to look much less clear...

At this point in our friendship I wasn't sure if the attraction was more than one-sided. I knew I liked him but I was unsure of his position. Not wanting to let the opportunity pass I began to subtly flirt. As we were already spending ridiculous amounts of time together I feared the flirting might go unnoticed. And after almost two weeks of giving it my best, with what appeared to be no reaction, I resorted to being direct. One night, while playing video games with his brother, I said something like, "You know I like you. Right?".
"Well, I wasn't sure.", came his response, "Sometimes girls just flirt and it doesn't mean anything.".
This surprised me. "Well, that's not me." came my reply. "I am not a flirt.". And thus began our courtship.

We were spending most of our Sundays-Fridays together which left little time for actual dating. And as he lived about an hour away most weekends, a casual meet-up required actual planning. The first time I called him on the phone-at his house-my palms were sweating! I couldn't remember ever being so nervous over a guy. We arranged to go out for the first time when he knew he would be "in town" for a couple of days and we would not be working. I bought a new outfit and paced nervously until he arrived. I remember thinking how handsome he looked in his khakis. Up to this point most of our time together was spent working . This date was the first time we would see the "other" side of each other. Little things about the date still stick-out in my mind. The way he opened the door for me or made very little eye contact. The way he seemed nervous yet completely at ease. That first date, away from work, felt almost like a test. We had spent so much time together in a secluded environment that we were unsure of how we would work in "real life". Obviously, things went well and we went on many more successful dates that Summer. But as Fall loomed so did my move to Kentucky. And I knew there was a decision to be made and that I would have to make it.

Throughout the summer something had been bothering me. I hadn't shared it with anyone but I had, had a rather peculiar dream just two weeks after meeting Andrew. In the dream he and I were getting married. At first I ignored the dream, as we had only just met and it honestly seemed a little insane. But as we got closer and began to date, the dream bothered me more and more. I started to wonder if maybe it did mean something. Was I really going to marry him? Several guys had "talked marriage" before. I had even been engaged once! But never had I been the one to suggest it. And yet, here I was, not even two months into knowing this guy and I was already thinking of changing my whole life's direction to be with him. Needless to say this caught me off guard and I began to pray. I asked the Lord for peace about leaving or confirmation that I should stay and see how the relationship with Andrew progressed. And, before too long little things began to happen and I knew that staying was the path God had chosen for me. He had brought Andrew into my life at just the right time and a new future was beginning to emerge.

This new path wouldn't always be easy. Before we were engaged we would almost part ways 4 times. But God, in his mercy, gave us the strength to persevere. And on March 24, 2003, we were engaged to be married-just 9 months after that awkward, first encounter!

I want to leave you with a scripture that has often reminded me of this time in my life and a prayer: Lord, help me to always be open to Your plan. Even when Your plan seems impossible and hazy. And my plan seems perfect and clear.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
do not depend on your own understanding. 
Seek his will in all you do and 
he will show you which path to take. Proverbs 3:5-6 (NLT)

Loving and praying for you all today!