How I Met My Husband

Sounds like a TV show ("How I Met My Husband").
Well, here it goes... :)

When I was young, I could sense God's love and feel that He was near. He was a Father, a Friend, and a safe place. I knew Jesus was/is the Son of God and I had reverence in my heart for Jesus...but had a question inside that caused me to ask God how we (His creation) are different from Jesus ("God, aren't we your children, too?"). As always, God was faithful to asnwer. His timing was and is perfect. My testimony is one I share when able but I'll spare you that (can get a lil long-winded) as it's best when shared in-person. So, to make a long story shorter, :) God showed who Jesus is and my need for Him through studying the Bible with friends from a local church. I couldn't get enough of reading about Him...at Borders, Barnes, and Starbucks...my Bible and I were pretty much married with a cup of coffee for hours each day. You should have seen the coffee stains on the pages.

It was then that I realized that I needed and desired to marry a man who loved God, too. To share this with my future husband was so important to my heart: to pray with Him and to encourage one another regarding faith, and to love others with that same love. What was an interesting twist was that I was content in my singlehood. As much as I longed to marry a man who would pray with me and love God more than he loved me, I felt pretty fulfilled with the friendships I had and being an aunt (who adores her niece and nephews).

Deep insdie I wanted to know that I was worthy of being loved by a man. To fully know that he loved me for me and wanted to walk through the growing pains of life by my side. One of my dear friends prayed a couple years ago that God would bring a man into my life that would help me love God more...better as a couple...than I/we could apart from one another. That prayer resignated loudly within.

It was not long afterwards that a co-worker approached me at work and shared that she wanted to fix me up with someone. She said that he was super fun and had a great personality. I was open to this but really needed to know if he had a heart for God. That's an awkward thing to ask...:) What I felt come out of my mouth was this: "My prayer is that I'll marry a man who will go on missions trips with me." In response to this she said, "Well, THAT'S like 1% of the population." "True," I thought to myself. But as I left the room I remember saying to God, "God, You can do anything."

A month later in May of 2007, Steve asked me out. :)

We first met in the fall of 2006 at my job as a Speech Therapist. I loved my job!! In addition to helping kiddos with their communication, I also dressed up as a Granny once a week to teach idioms to the whole school. Doing the worm was included in this endeavor. It was a blast! My best friend, Nicky, had known Steve for many years and they were/are very good friends. He came by to visit Nicky and met me in my Granny outfit while at school/work. Yep, our 1st meeting was him in scrubs (physical therapist) and I in a granny wig and outfit. My first thought about Steve at this point was, "Wow, he's really tall!" No pun intended, but tall men didn't stand out to me...it was just a factual statement that came to mind.

We then crossed paths at Nicky's birthday party which was a really hard night for me. I was feeling really down and wasn't able to stay very long... Yet, he took the initiative to walk up and say, "hi" to me. I only knew 3 of the 25 people there; thus, that simple greeting really helped me feel more at home. I remember thinking, "He is so nice!!"

The 3rd time we met, our Bible studies had merged for a dinner-night. I wasn't wearing any make-up and was wearing my new retainer. Talk about feeling gorgeous. :) He introduced himself to the group via an hilarious joke and then taught a lesson. My thoughts that night were: "He has a great sense of humor!" and "He is so atractive to me- leading and teaching about God."

The 4th time we met, I went to me some friends at Steve's house to watch the NCAA Basketball championships (Florida vs. Ohio State). I was drinking a RockStar and was super hyper. Not only was I making sound effects each time when Noah scored but I was laughing and doing wheel barrels up his stairs with Cari. I was a lil much to handle.

In late April of 2007, I had just moved into a condo I bought (my 1st home purchase) and thought it would be fun to meet some friends to play some games. Cari and I were playing Euker and noticed that Steve and a friend of his wanted to join in. We played for 3 HOURS!! Steve claims to this day that they stole the deal from us several times and lost of purpose just so they could say, "Rubber Match!" Needless to say, I found myself thinking, "He's so much fun!!"

That week Steve emailed me asking if I'd want to throw the frisbee sometime in efforts to practice for our Ultimate Frisbee league. We met up on May 5th and had a blast talking about faith, life, and tossing the disc around Fishers Park. He later helped my famly and I move furniture from my Dad's home. "What a guy!!" I knew he was special and was curious as to find out more about this Steve Black. So glad that I did!!

Proverbs 27:17
Iron sharpens iron, So one man sharpens another.
Quote: "Steve, I think that it would be easier being single and in the missions field than dating (anyone)."

We started dating and were sharing lots about our hearts/faith, our pasts, hobbies, and dreams. Yet, it wasn't long before I questioned why he was sticking-around and pursuing me. "Why would he still want to date me knowing me this well... I get moody, too." I found that it was easier to hide those areas that needed growth and healing. After all, don't we have to wear a mask in order to be what someone else wants? "Why is he sticking around?" My trust for men was a lil low and thus I was afraid that I'd lose my mystery and be cast aside. BUT, Steve had a heart in him that God had been molding enabling him to hang-in-there through it all. Iron sharpens iron- we definitely prayed and relied on God during our dating. Six months later, Steve proposed and I found my heart taking a deep sigh... "I can be me. He loves me for me."

Since this is pretty long already, :) I'll write another blog regarding the engagement. Yet, this is how I met my hubby... I'm a blessed gal!!

Sincerely,
Mer