7 Years Ago.....

7 years ago today Brett and I officially became Brett and I. We didn't really date....we basically went from being best friends to basically being engaged. I wouldn't have had it any other way. From the first moment that Brett and I were together, I had no doubts that he wanted to marry me. And a lot of that was because of the amazing friendship that we had going into our relationship. Brett and I were an unlikely couple. We were friends for a long time but had very similar strong willed personalities and while it was easy to envision the future together, it wasn't something that either of us embraced initially. :)

Brett and I had a little falling out when we were about 20ish. We had gotten VERY close and then Brett freaked out and ran away. He will NEVER admit that this is the case but take it from me, that's the true story. Basically we were starting to get to that unofficial couple status and that wasn't what Brett wanted and so he took of running. Running might be too mild of a description, he SPRINTED. Meanwhile, I started hanging out with a different group of friends and then consequentially, got my heart broken. I learned a LOT during this time, a lot about my faith, a lot about my self worth and what that was rooted in, and even though the lesson was painful, I know it very much made me who I am today and made me appreciate my Savior in a way that I would have never known. Having my heart broken (which was partially my own fault, it was a bad situation and I knew better) made me cling to the Lord and really commit my life to Him. I began to pour myself into ministry and into mentoring girls, hoping to instill a self worth in them that comes from knowing that you are God's daughter, not some guy's girlfriend. I became truly CONTENT. Seriously content. Like to the point where I could honestly say that I didn't care what direction that my life was headed in, I just wanted to love the Lord and do whatever He called me to do. But still, my heart had those twinges of longing for love. Longing for companionship. Right back when I started my road to recovery from my bad choices, Brett came back onto the scene and we slowly rekindled our friendship. Brett was an amazing example of a Godly man to me. He was a wonderful friend, had my best interests in mind and I knew that he would never take advantage of my vulnerability. Our friendship blossomed and became something that I was so happy about. But as we grew closer, a girl starts to wonder...where is this headed? Are these feelings leading to more then just friendship? But I remained content, trusting that the Lord would move things in His time. I was INSISTENT on not making a move, I would never want to start off a relationship wondering if Brett just said yes because he felt bad or because it was awkward not to. Although I really should have known him better, he would have just put his running shoes back on, ha! Anyways, so during this time I felt my heart starting to fall in love with my best friend but I told the Lord, let your will be done. Then Brett went on a missions trip to Samoa for 2 weeks and I really missed him while he was gone. I think that is when I realized how special our friendship was. This was the spring of 2002. Brett came back from the trip (and I so cleverly found an excuse to be at the airport when he got back , hee hee) and we went to coffee within a couple days of his return. At coffee we are chatting, having a good time, and then Brett proceeds to tell me that he and this other girl from his trip like each other now.

WHAT!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!??!?!

Ever so calmly, I smile and say "how exciting" like the good friend that I am. Meanwhile my heart is pounding, half full of disappointment, half full of RAGE and I get through the rest of coffee, just anxious to LEAVE. I drive to the house where I was housesitting and take their dog on a walk, muttering under my breath the whole time about how this is messed up and they can just have each other and good luck to them and other lovely jewels of bitterness. :) I get back to the house and am up in their office getting ready to get on their computer when I see a piece of paper laying on the side of the desk. I pick it up and it is a letter, I am not joking. It was a letter from God to his daughter. (I was housesitting for my youth pastor and his wife and this was something that he had received once and kept) The letter spoke to me like directly. Told me to knock of my worrying, that when the timing was right, God would work on my behalf and my job was to just be ready for it. I was so comforted and knew that this whole situation was probably just a test of my true contentment.

Within a couple months, Brett apparently got over this girl, nothing ever happened and it was probably one of those trip things where emotions are high and you lose all common sense, hee hee.

In June we were hanging out almost every night and it was just so much fun. So pure, so hard to truly describe but some of my favorite memories. Finally in July, Brett made his move. :) We were at the Laurelhurst Theater in Portland, watching "A Beautiful Mind" and I was wearing these bangle bracelets and Brett was playing with them and then eventually his hand made it way over to my leg and we were both staring straight at the screen, probably smiling like goons. :) I think the next night we finally held hands and then I think a week or so later, we kissed. I think about the second week we started talking about "someday" which was really talking about getting married. We started looking at rings in August, got engaged in December and married the following May. It was just so amazing and magical and I think that the awesome friendship that we had really contributes to the solid marriage that we have today. My prayer for Emersyn is that she wouldn't be eager to casually date and freely let boys access portions of her heart. Your heart is really the safest when it is in God's hands and when you give Him the power to hand it to whomever He sees fit. You will never regret friendship or purity. For some reason, boyfriends and dating and baggage is so glamourous in our society but when it comes down to it, the more of your heart that you have to give to your spouse, the better. Obviously we all have our own paths and our own lessons to learn, but I sure hope to be able to help my daughter hold out for a story similar to the one that her daddy and I share.

Thank you for making a move honey. :) This has truly been the best 7 years of my life and I couldn't be happier. I am so blessed.