-Once upon a time there was this recently turned 15 year old girl who was lost, incredibly lost. And one day, for the 4th of July her younger brother invited her and her mom to go visit this tiny church that had recently started and was being hosted in the back corner space of an office complex. She was very wary of going and honestly thought church and "church people" were all full of it. But there was a promise of free food and good music so she was enticed into going...I mean who wouldn't be? Upon arriving, she was greeted by warm smiles and kind handshakes. The food was good, very good-and so was the music. But little did she know exactly what kind of church this was...so when the worship began and flags appeared and people spoke in tongues...she sat completely freaked out on the back row eyeing her mother with a pleading look that expressed, "can we please sneak out?!" But her mother being the loyal, willing to give people a chance person she was, shot back a look of, "no!" So the service continued, and the girl became more and more interested in what these people were talking about-so intrigued that when she was asked by a beautiful blonde woman to return that Sunday-she replied, "okay, yeah, sure..."
The rest of the week came and went, and Sunday was quickly upon the girl. She arrived with her mother to the church and sat in the back row. When it was time for the worship to begin-she noticed that the same blonde woman who asked her to come back to the church was leading the worship from behind the drum pit...awesome! Later, the girl came to find out that this woman was the Pastor's wife and even later she would learn that one beautiful woman's heart could change her life forever, but that's another story for another time. After the worship ended a round, curly-haired man took the pulpit and introduced himself as Jeff, the associate pastor. He began to preach and tell of his own life story-his own redemption...how God saved him from a life of destruction and drinking. He modeled his life by putting these chains around his neck that had signs on them with all of the sins he was under, there were so many it seemed he was actually weighed down...then he spoke of how God at some points literally rescued him from these sins through other people and by grace alone. As he spoke of his rescue he removed each chain and he was able to raise his neck a little more. In the end he explained how just believing saved his life. At that moment the girl began to think, "Well I'm not nearly as messed up as him and look what this God did to save his life...I want that, I want his joy, more than anything...I want to be rescued." And it was from that moment on that the girl's life would be forever changed.
So then the girl became very involved in the church, she joined the dance team, worship team, and the youth group...she even got baptized. She was happy and was growing closer to this rescuer...her life was being transformed. She was meeting amazing people especially in her youth group. One family in particular, The Wesleys-who were comprised of Mom, Dad, and four boys, would become an intricate part of her family-participating in holidays together, attending school together, playing sports together and at some points even providing shelter to one another. Basically, the Wesley family was becoming her family-and she was happy.
Life went on, and the girl graduated high school, very grounded in her faith but still dealing with many life struggles. The girl attended a wonderful university where she grew into who she was as a person even more, gaining wonderful friends, traveling the world, and learning about her God and His deep love for her and how to be a Christian in her workplace. But through this entire journey of college her family always stayed close to the Wesley family-the girl even lived with the Wesley's grandmother for a summer. During the girl's last couple of years of college she struggled and dealt with heart break, she also grew close to one of the Wesley boys as they shared their mutual heartbreak and deep friendship with one another. Over this period of time the girl and the boy maintained that they had nothing more than a deep-rooted friendship to anyone who inquired. And while this was true, sometimes the girl wished for more...
Well, one tragic day in November of 2010 the girl experienced the most heart breaking event in her life. The girl lost her mom...and she was sad, really, really sad. During this time, the boy was there for her, comforting her and requiring no more from her than friendship...and the girl liked this, a lot. But as any story of a boy and girl goes, the girl's feelings grew. Luckily...so did the boy's. However, for fear that these feelings could lead to a bad ending (because everyone has fears), the girl and the boy did nothing to advance their feelings. And then there was another girl...and the girl was sad, and hurt. But, once again, as in any good romance story, through this tough situation the boy and girl grew closer together...and they no longer could deny what was right in front of them. They talked and talked...and talked, and then they took the leap (figuratively that is). Excitement bubbled over and both the boy and the girl told their closest friends of their new adventure together. Many approved, a couple didn't. But what is a good romance story without disapprovers? And now, with confidence the girl can say, "I waited for you. You are the man God has been building up this girl to be with for so long, you reflect my Jesus in so many ways and I cannot wait to share my life with you. This will be quite the adventure, with many ups and downs-but my excitement can no longer be contained. I have waited for you and God has blessed me. It's your spirit that inspires me and draws me near to you. When I speak to you and you speak to me, I grow closer to God, and I know he has placed us together for a reason. I'm so glad I waited for you."
There you have it! My big, happy news! He's wonderful! Also, check out this video...I'm so inspired by her words, and I feel like I finally have what she is speaking of.
xoxo,
Savvy
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