Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Wedding Story: How We Met



I'm thinking about doing a blog series on my wedding!  This is the freshest it'll ever be in my mind (seeing as how it happened last October) and I'd love to have it documented here so I can come back and enjoy it over and over again.

So I start with how Kevin and I met and our story of dating.  I hesitate sharing this with you...why?  I'm afraid of being judged.  I'm afraid of people thinking that I'm a jerk.  But our story is quite beautiful considering how God orchestrated it all.  If I had to summarize it all in one sentence, it would be this: God works in ways that you will never understand or ever be able to predict, but He is in control and knows what He's doing AND what is ultimately best for you.

So in November of 2010, I was not in a happy place.  I had just gone through a really tough breakup and to be honest, was pretty depressed.  I was 27 and not understanding why I was still single.  Though I was NOT old, I thought I was because most of my friends were already married and on baby #2.  Thankfully, I have a very supportive family who has always loved me and NEVER pushed me to marry quickly or feel inadequate because I was not married yet.  They believe in God making your story happen the way He wants it.

My roommate and I decided to visit the young adult gathering at my church on a Thursday night, November 4, 2010 to be exact. Ha!  It was on this night that I met Kevin, my future husband.  I remember thinking he was a good-looking guy who was very sweet and seemed down-to-earth.  At the end of the night, we exchanged phone numbers and agreed to hang out again. 

Now a bit about my thoughts at this point: my heart was very broken.  I still cried daily and just couldn't get out of my depression that started the previous September.  I had considered counseling before, but never wanted to pay the money to invest in it.  The daily crying finally convinced me that I should give it a go.  I was sick of being in a such a terrible place.  I got a recommendation from a friend for a great Christian counselor and started going weekly.  I cannot tell you how BIG this time in my life was!  I learned SO much about myself, my desires, why I process things the way I do, what in my childhood affected the way I handle situations today, the kind of men I was attracted to, and more.  This all came from the LORD and His guidance in this time of counseling.

Ok, back to Kevin.  We immediately became great friends and hung out often, even just the two of us.  I think that because of my brokeness, I couldn't see past being friends at the time.  I knew I was not in a place for a relationship.  I did go on dates with others in the meantime, but nothing became of any of it.  I got to know Kevin very well.  I knew deep stuff about him and he knew deep stuff about me.  I was always honest with him about my intentions - being friends.  He so graciously accepted me where I was and accepted me as his friend, best friend.  There were times that I felt like we shouldn't hang out as much but I just couldn't stop....I LOVED hanging out with him.  I felt like he got me for who I really am and accepted me despite all of my inadequacies.  In fact, I had an ex-boyfriend that viewed my querks as annoyances.  He rolled his eyes at the things that Kevin loves about me.  I was always 100% myself around Kevin.

So for a year and half, this was life.  I continued my counseling which went from getting over the ex-boyfriend to moving onto bigger and deeper topics that I had never dug into.  I highly recommend counseling for everyone - we all have stuff we need to dig into, no matter who we are.  No one is too good for counseling.  But hear me on this - there are good and bad counselors!  Get recommendations!  Ask around!  Don't just Google someone.

I was also digging deeper into my relationship with God and getting a true understanding of grace and His unconditional love.

Kevin and I became better friends.  During this time, we got to know each other's hearts without the temptation of becoming too physical or caring way too much about what the other thought since we weren't dating.  I so appreciate that phony filter not being a part of our friendship.

Here are some photos of the random things we did while we were friends over that year and a half:


 
 
 
 
 
 

Coming soon....Wedding Story: How We Started Dating




4 comments:

  1. You guys are too cute! I'm excited to hear more about the journey you took to get where you are. It's always amazing how God inserts himself in our lives when we need him. My hubby and I had a similar beginning: I had just gotten out of a long term relationship and we were just friends to start. :)

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    1. That's awesome, Tiffany! Being friends first created such a foundation for us, as I'm sure it did for y'all. Thanks for sharing!

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  2. I LOVE this story! I can't wait to hear how things morphed from friendlove to lovelove. :)

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    1. Thanks Hollie! I'm so glad that you enjoyed it! I'll be posting more soon. :) Thanks for commenting!

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