7 years married!!

Today, 7 years ago, I married the man that took my breath away. He wasn't the guy I wanted/imagined that I would marry but is the man I need...God is good! Today, he is the guy I want!! He has become someone I can not imagine my life without. My diamond in the rough, as I like to call him!

For those of you who don't know, I am gonna share how we met because it is truly an amazing adventure in how God brought us together! It makes me feel soooo special....like a princess! For those who know the story, bear with me!!

In the fall of 1995, I attended a one year bible school called Ravencrest in Estes Park, Colorado. Serious God country. While a serious student and just wanting to study the bible, I didn't have time for the guys who were there just "goofin'" around and weren't serious. That is what I thought of Chris. He was one cool dude, snobby, kinda of stuck up, guitar playing, rock climbing, coffee drinking goofball. What I didn't know was that wasn't Chris at all!! (OK, yes to the coffee drinking, rock climbing and guitar playing.) So we didn't really talk at all and didn't run in the same crowd. That was it. He left school at the semester break to head back to Virginia to work at a ski resort. I stayed in Colorado. In fact, I stayed 2 years. Chris would come back to visit because his brother and sister-n-law lived in Denver. In between my 2 years at Ravencrest, Chris came back to work one of their summer camps and I gave him my Rocky Mountain Park Pass....we both totally remember this and laugh about it today!

There was one visit in particular that we both remember very vividly. Chris, Brad, Steve and I went to our favorite little local coffee shop called Notch Top. Chris and I had the most amazing conversation about dreams, what we wanted to be when we grew up and where we were going. It was as if Steve and Brad did not exist. Then they were off again. I wasn't to see Chris again for a couple more years. We both believe that this is when God put us in each others minds and hearts. Chris would also say this is when he started praying for me!

One day, as a new student at Columbia International University in South Carolina, I get this random phone call from Chris. Totally out of the blue!! Here is how he got my number. I had called a friend who was still a student at Ravencrest. I told her that my parents had just moved from St. Louis, MO to San Antonio, TX. I left her all my forwarding information and to just give me a call. AT THE EXACT SAME TIME she was listening to the phone message, Chris walked into her house/apartment to pick up some friends to give them a lift to the Denver Airport. (yep, he was visiting CO again!!!) HE HEARD the message and asked if he could have my numbers. He had just moved to Texas with his buddy Brad and lived a little over a hour away from my parents.

So I was on his mind. He was praying. I had just given up men in order to pursue Young Life as a single woman. My flight home that Christmas was in prayer over being single and just not dating. That New Year's Eve of 1997, Chris showed up at my parents house and we went out with my parents to dinner and a movie. Chris kept calling, visiting, pursuing. I was trying to keep my emotions in check because he wasn't what I wanted. In fact, I prayed that God would take away any feelings I had for him......He didn't. One night before the end of my 6 week Christmas break, Chris showed up at my parents house. I didn't want him there that night because I was so tired. I specifically remember making myself look unattractive because I didn't want him to be there. He show up and just sits on my parents couch. He asks me "why am I here?" I am not happy at this point, so I say, and I quote "i don't know. why are you here?" He proceeds to profess his love for me, his intent to marry me one day and that he wants only me. WHAT AM I TO SAY TO THAT????? So, I hit him with a pillow, sent him to his room and told him to think about what he just started. We have been together ever since. It took me awhile to catch up emotionally, but as always, Chris has been faithful, patient and loving. I never doubt his love for me. I am totally blessed to have him and get what I don't deserve. I love him. I love him madly. I love him deeply and fiercely. What a jewel he is!! He also gave me two of my greatest inventions!!!