Tuesday, March 29, 2011

The Story of Us, Part 1

As I've thought about our "story" and how God weaved our lives together, I've struggled with where to start. Details that are significant to me are probably irrelevant to other people. However, every experience...person...relationship played a significant role in who I am today and it isn't our story without those memories.


A little background...

When I was in the 5th grade, my parents felt led to change churches. They wanted my brother and me to go to church with the same kids we went to school with. So, we started attending and eventually joined a new church. It wasn't long before I developed a crush on an older boy who, of course, didn't even know I existed. Although we had never officially met, we actually lived just a few houses from each other. As the years went by, our paths intersected more and more and he eventually started hanging out at our house with my brother. He was an 8th grader and I was just a lowly 6th grader so he only talked to me when no one else was around. Although I had one or two other "boyfriends" during that time, I still had a crush on him. Then, the summer before my 8th grade year...I was 13 and he was 15 (man, we were young!), he decided we could be boyfriend and girlfriend (or whatever we called it back then). We were pretty much inseparable...we went to school together, went to church together, lived on the same street. We had a great relationship and I was completely in love. I know this could be a whole other post, but I am SO THANKFUL that we dated as long as we did. There were plenty of people that thought we were "missing out" or "too serious" but I have never regretted it. I truly believe I was spared most of the drama and pressure of those volatile years because I was in a committed relationship.


So, we dated almost 6 years...from the summer before my 8th grade year, all 4 years of high school through my freshman year of college. We celebrated holidays with both families, he went on every vacation with my family...in my mind, we were headed straight for marriage. In fact, I pretty much had the date set in my mind...just waiting to get a few years of college behind us. My freshman year of college was amazing (he was a junior at the same school). I made awesome new friends, learned so much about myself and my relationship with God and was truly, completely, content with my life.


To be continued...

No comments: