Reminiscing...

*I know that a lot of you have gotten the abbrieviated version of the "how we met" story, so if that was less than satisfactory- here's the ridiculously long version. Enjoy!

My MySpace profile had been private for as long as the option was available so when I changed it to public, I wasn't really sure what to expect. I got random messages often- some of which I responded to, most of which I did not. Every once in a while someone would send me a message that said more than, "hey whats up," but none of those messages were particularly interesting or from anyone that I really wanted to get to know. Before I go on to the next part of this story, I think that I should provide a little bit of a side story.

One day I got a message from a person that said something along the lines of, "What I can tell from your page is that you like to read and you support Obama [writers note: I actually voted for the losing team]. What else can I learn about you?" I had to hand it to the guy- it wasn't a bad opening line. It showed that he actually took the time to look at my page instead of just my pictures and it also showed interest. At the same time though, it got me wondering if he was dense or if I actually didn't have anything on my page that said anything about me. That inspired me to write a series of blogs called, "Where I Stand:" If you've been to my MySpace, you've probably noticed that the "series" consists of one blog so far, but the one that I have written so far has to do with my beliefs. It is by no means comprehensive and it was written quickly, but as the title suggests it gives a good general idea of where I stand.

Fast forward to five days after I wrote that blog and I opened my inbox. I saw that I had a message from this guy that basically said that he really liked what he read on my page and that he hoped to hear back from me sometime. I got his message pretty quickly after he sent it, but it took me a few hours to respond because I wasn't quite sure what I would say. When I looked at his page I was really surprised to find that everything that was on there made me think that he and I would be really compatible. I loved that his heroes showed that he's a Christian; his top friends showed that he's close with his family; his blogs showed creativity; his interests showed a sense of adventure, athleticism, and that he's laid back; and his "about me" showed confidence and humility at the same time. Then I go look at his pictures and was somehow not at all surprised to find out that he was very handsome.

Finally I respond to his message. The first message I sent him said something like, "Glad you liked my page. I liked what I saw on yours too." I realized that I didn't really say anything in that message. I decided that I should have given him something worth responding to, so I went back and sent him a new message that said, "So if you could be any animal in the world, what would you be?" Seriously...? That's the first question I thought of? Luckily for me he was a good sport and actually responded.
The next question that I asked him was, "If you had an year, expenses paid, to devote to something that you're passionate/excited about, what would you do/where would you go?" I think there's a possibility that a tiny part of me fell in love with him when I read his answer. After my mission to Africa a few years ago, I knew that I would have to go back. I think that I left a big part of myself there and I know that my work there isn't done, so when I read his response- that he would go to Africa or India or any place where the children could use help- I pretty much melted and knew that I had to meet this man in person.

Fast forward about a week and a half and I'm waking up at 8 in the morning(!) on Sunday to go to church for the first time in a long while. The plan was that we would each go to the 10 o'clock service at seperate churches and then meet up afterwards for coffee. Now I'm a pretty confident girl, but I was all nerves that day. Whoever got out of church last was supposed to call the other person, and looking back I wouldn't be surprised if he snuck out of his service a minute early so that he wouldn't have to be the one to call. After church got out I called him and told him where I thought we should meet up. I knew where he was parked, and I was too nervous to stand in front and wait so I started walking towards his bike. I could tell right away from the look on his face that I wasn't the only one who was nervous. Interestingly enough, his nerves resulted in him being pretty quiet whereas mine resulted in not being able to shut up. As nervous as I was, I genuinely enjoyed his company and was really pleased when coffee turned into lunch. All in all, I think we ended up spending close to 4 hours together that day. The end of our date brought about the most awkward good-bye ever. It's really cute now, but you would have had to have been there to understand the magnitude of the awkwardness. It would have taken a machete to cut through the tension.

Because I don't want this blog to turn into a novel, I'll go ahead and abbrieviate the next few dates. Essentially, we went to a Charger game and went on some really long and amazing walks. It was truly refreshing to find someone that I could talk to and listen to for hours on end, but also be completely comfortable with while walking in silence. I couldn't help but fall for him quickly, and it's felt completely right every minute.

*As a side note, some people have wondered aloud if we'll make it through this deployment and I just have to say that there is not a doubt in my mind that we will. I know that God brought us together for a purpose. I suspect it may be because getting through this will bring so much strength to our relationship and it will teach us to really and truly appreciate being close to each other. Maybe there will be times where we'll feel broken to our cores, but as long as we realize that Jesus provides all of the comfort that we need, I'm sure we'll do just fine.