August/September 2001 (my freshman year in college, Matthew sophomore year): My dear friend Amanda Craft introduces me to her ex-boyfriend Matthew Grant. Let me pause here to remind everyone that I LOVE Texas. I am a true Texan. I only left my homestate to pursue my dream of a deaf education major and Southern Miss had one of the best programs, so it was random chance that I even ended up at this school some 800 miles away from all that I held dear in Texas. God changed my heart about Southern Miss and I believe it was to get me where he wanted me....the place where I would meet my intended.
Anyways....In my friendship with Amanda all I heard about was this ex-boyfriend and how wonderful he was and how disappointed she was that God lead her to end their relationship. So, I met this Matthew guy and instantly thought "now this Mississippi boy is cute and that accent....man I cant believe I like it." Over the fall semester I would purposely wait in the same line as him in the commons (where everyone on campus ate) and we would occasionally eat together. I always secretly hoped we would bump into each other.
January 2002: I move into the same dorm as Matthew. Random chance. Period. This gave us the opportunity to bump into each other a lot. Matthew claims he saw me walking outside the dorm throughout the Spring 2002 semester wishing he could date me, but he never asked :)
Summer 2002: Yet again, random chance...we happen to move into the same apartment complex and only a few units apart. Throughout Fall 2002 I drove him to school several days a week, we would hav lunches together and of course we had random drop ins. I think this is when our friendship started to blossom.
Summer 2002-Spring 2004: Throughout this time Matthew and planned on campus lunches together...not as a date but as friends. Most of our conversations revolved around getting advice about our current relationships (or for me, my current interest since I did not really DO relationships). This time was so important to our future relationship because we learned all about our standards and learned how we handled ourselves in general. What did I learn about Matthew? That he was committed through the thick and thin, that when he was "in"-he was all in, that he was honorable, that he was loving and that he was the most caring and compassionate man I ever met. Every time one of us entertained the idea of dating the other in our mind, the other was not on the same page. It was an interesting back and forth that continuted all the way up until we FINALLY dated in 2008.
Spring 2004: Matthew graduates from college and we sorta lose touch a bit while I finish my senior year.
Spring 2005-Fall 2007: I graduate and begin a career eventually moving me to Memphis, TN. Matthew and I talk a lot more frequently and it seemed as though we might date....nope...I suck....I wasnt ready. Poor Matthew....I felt terrible but I knew it was not God's timing. Later I learned Matthew was even looking for jobs near me!!!!! Our friendship continues through email and phone calls.
Fall 2007: I call him up...I am ready...finally. But alas, he is dating someone so I decide to keep my distance to be respectful of his girlfriend and their relationship. I was very disappointed.
Winter 2007-Spring 2008: Matthew moves to the same city (Birmingham) as me for graduate school....RANDOM!!!!! He called me up once and then was MIA for months after that. I thought that was our last chance and we had missed it since he was still dating someone!!!
May 2008: Matthew emails me out of the blue and asks me out.....huh? I was so confused, but I accepted (sorta). I said he could come to my house and I would cook for him, I did not want him paying for me---he was in school!!! This is when it all began....
Summer 2008: I learned that the reason I did not hear from Matthew after the first time I saw him in Birmingham was that he did not want to be distracted from his current relationship. He wanted to focus everything on that relationship and giving it a shot to work out if that was God's plan. When he shared that with me, I knew he was the man I would marry (as funny as that sounds). That was July 2008, only a few months after we started dating. I did not tell anyone I felt that way, but I did. I knew he was the one.
September 2008: We said I love you.
December 22, 2008: Matthew asked me to marry him at the place where our journey began, Southern Miss. It was perfect.
May 9, 2009: I married the most wonderful, caring, compassionate, loving, honorable (and so much more) man. I am blessed beyond measure. I still feel that newlywed love even to this day....2 years, one baby and a second baby on the way later.
Some might say we moved too quickly into marriage and children, but when you know God's will it is our duty to follow as He leads when He leads. We try our best to be obedient to His will. I consider it an honor and blessing to spend everyday for the rest of my life with my bestest friend ever of all times ever. I love him more everyday and cannot wait to see where this life leads us....it has been very exciting so far :)
This was the best part of my day!!! I am happy for my penpal that you found the love of your life. I had to learn to really believe this through Isla's conception, but God's timing is ALWAYS perfect. :)
ReplyDeletePs. I stole Nick's work computer to logon and comment. I will be home Tuesday and will play catch up with everyone then!
A beautiful story.
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