Today is a very special day for me!
Not only is it Valentines Day, a holiday which I have always loved, (please enjoy that pun) but it is mine and Stephen's one year dating anniversary. :)
Maybe it's just me, but I feel there's something special about that first year.
Everything is new. There are so many firsts. And there is a whole lot of learning to be had.
Here's a look at our year in review:
At 10:30 p.m. last Valentines Day he asked me to be his girlfriend.
All day he had been surprising me with sweet letters and chocolate, proof that he was a keeper, but I had agreed to babysit that night way before he was in the picture, so babysat I did.
When I returned home to CBC, I met him at the "pagoda," gave him cool presents and received this super awesome spiel about how great I was and how he wanted me to be his girlfriend.
It was perfect and romantic and wonderful.
So, our journey began.
The next day was Homecoming and I was on court, so down the basketball court we walked, our relationship now on display for the entire world to witness.
I met his dad that weekend, an encounter that I will never forget.
Then came a Spring Break and a road trip with his dad to Heber Springs. We stayed with his aunt and uncle there, woke-up at the crack of dawn to watch a fishing competition, went thrift-shopping and watched Oz The Great and Powerful in the most...interesting...movie theater to which I have ever been.
Not long after SB came my college graduation, an exciting, but scary time for me. By this point, well actually, two weeks into our relationship, I knew that this guy was the real deal and I was afraid to lose him. Yet, he assured me that things would be okay. He wanted to be with me, to make things work. He had faith...a lot more than I did in that moment. My graduation day was a blast and I enjoyed every moment of it.
Next, came a hard part.
I left Conway. I moved. I moved back in with my parents.
I had joined a ministry in Fayetteville and was trying to raise the money that it would take to move there and start ministry.
Yet again, Stephen's faith did not waiver or if it did, he acted very strong on my behalf. He believed in me, more so he believed that God would provide for me.
So, I spent the next five months living with my parents in the middle of nowhere.
And that was a very dark time for me. I was depressed, felt alone and to be honest, support raising just wasn't going so well.
Time and time again Stephen reminded me that God was in control, that he had a plan for my life and that my failure did not define me, Jesus Christ did.
In late October, I ended-up quitting the ministry, moving back to Conway, being offered a new job and living with great friends until I was able to get back on my feet.
He helped me more. He supported this new direction that God had given me. And he was happy to have me back in a town that we both love.
All in all, we spent seven months living in the same city and five months living an hour away from each other.
We found our favorite restaurants, parks, gas stations and movies.
We fell madly in love.
We learned a lot along the way:
We learned the power of communication and what works for us communication wise and what doesn't. For example: We'd much rather prefer a quality 20 minute phone call or an hour of in-person visiting time each night rather than texting all day.
We also learned that honest communication about everything from our emotions to the weather is so, so important.
We learned each other's likes, dislikes, strengths, weaknesses and flaws.
We have failed each other and have learned how to overcome that failure.
We have learned a lot about patience and how important it is to be slow to anger (At least I have.)
We have learned the importance of "me time" and how spending too much time together can be a bad thing.
We have learned the importance of praying and reading the Bible together and we have seen how not reading the Bible/walking with God in our own spiritual lives destroys our relationship.
We have struggled in the area of intimacy and have realized how important it is to repent of sin and truly turn back toward Jesus.
We have learned the power and importance of community with other believers and couples.
We have learned how to love each other well, though we still have a long way to go.
I have spent the last year of life learning to love someone more than myself and that has been hard, but exponentially more rewarding.
I am glad that God gave me him to love and I intend to do so for a very long time.
I love you, Stephen.
Happy Anniversary!
Here's to 75 more years of joy, trials, love and life!
Not only is it Valentines Day, a holiday which I have always loved, (please enjoy that pun) but it is mine and Stephen's one year dating anniversary. :)
Maybe it's just me, but I feel there's something special about that first year.
Everything is new. There are so many firsts. And there is a whole lot of learning to be had.
Here's a look at our year in review:
At 10:30 p.m. last Valentines Day he asked me to be his girlfriend.
All day he had been surprising me with sweet letters and chocolate, proof that he was a keeper, but I had agreed to babysit that night way before he was in the picture, so babysat I did.
When I returned home to CBC, I met him at the "pagoda," gave him cool presents and received this super awesome spiel about how great I was and how he wanted me to be his girlfriend.
It was perfect and romantic and wonderful.
So, our journey began.
The next day was Homecoming and I was on court, so down the basketball court we walked, our relationship now on display for the entire world to witness.
I met his dad that weekend, an encounter that I will never forget.
Then came a Spring Break and a road trip with his dad to Heber Springs. We stayed with his aunt and uncle there, woke-up at the crack of dawn to watch a fishing competition, went thrift-shopping and watched Oz The Great and Powerful in the most...interesting...movie theater to which I have ever been.
Not long after SB came my college graduation, an exciting, but scary time for me. By this point, well actually, two weeks into our relationship, I knew that this guy was the real deal and I was afraid to lose him. Yet, he assured me that things would be okay. He wanted to be with me, to make things work. He had faith...a lot more than I did in that moment. My graduation day was a blast and I enjoyed every moment of it.
Next, came a hard part.
I left Conway. I moved. I moved back in with my parents.
I had joined a ministry in Fayetteville and was trying to raise the money that it would take to move there and start ministry.
Yet again, Stephen's faith did not waiver or if it did, he acted very strong on my behalf. He believed in me, more so he believed that God would provide for me.
So, I spent the next five months living with my parents in the middle of nowhere.
And that was a very dark time for me. I was depressed, felt alone and to be honest, support raising just wasn't going so well.
Time and time again Stephen reminded me that God was in control, that he had a plan for my life and that my failure did not define me, Jesus Christ did.
In late October, I ended-up quitting the ministry, moving back to Conway, being offered a new job and living with great friends until I was able to get back on my feet.
He helped me more. He supported this new direction that God had given me. And he was happy to have me back in a town that we both love.
All in all, we spent seven months living in the same city and five months living an hour away from each other.
We found our favorite restaurants, parks, gas stations and movies.
We fell madly in love.
We learned a lot along the way:
We learned the power of communication and what works for us communication wise and what doesn't. For example: We'd much rather prefer a quality 20 minute phone call or an hour of in-person visiting time each night rather than texting all day.
We also learned that honest communication about everything from our emotions to the weather is so, so important.
We learned each other's likes, dislikes, strengths, weaknesses and flaws.
We have failed each other and have learned how to overcome that failure.
We have learned a lot about patience and how important it is to be slow to anger (At least I have.)
We have learned the importance of "me time" and how spending too much time together can be a bad thing.
We have learned the importance of praying and reading the Bible together and we have seen how not reading the Bible/walking with God in our own spiritual lives destroys our relationship.
We have struggled in the area of intimacy and have realized how important it is to repent of sin and truly turn back toward Jesus.
We have learned the power and importance of community with other believers and couples.
We have learned how to love each other well, though we still have a long way to go.
I have spent the last year of life learning to love someone more than myself and that has been hard, but exponentially more rewarding.
I am glad that God gave me him to love and I intend to do so for a very long time.
I love you, Stephen.
Happy Anniversary!
Here's to 75 more years of joy, trials, love and life!
