A peek into the past...

Mark and I have been married for over a year and a half now. It is crazy to think at one point I did not know this wonderful man. He has completely changed my life. From the first day I met him, he turned my world upside down and shook it up (in a good way :)). I can't imagine my life without him. He challenges me daily in matters of the Lord, and we keep each other accountable for our actions. He still says and does things that make my heart swell with happiness and make me feel like the luckiest, most blessed girl on the planet. On Friday, he looked at me and told me that I was the best wife a man could ever have and that I was his best friend. That is sweet enough, but what made it that much sweeter, was that we were having an argument over something I can't remember now. I knew he was frustrated, and for him to say those things to me while he was frustrated made me fall in love with him even more.

Mark and I met in October of 2007. The night I met him, I had previously had a date with a guy I had an enormous crush on. This guy called me the day before to reschedule for personal reasons. A friend of mine, by chance called me the next day and asked me to meet her for a drink to talk and catch up withour lives due to the fact that we hadn't seen each other in a couple of months. I now had the night free so I agreed to meet her. After we were at the restaurant for about an hour, she got a call from the guy she was dating who wanted to meet up with us. When he came, be brought Mark with him.

Mark came right over to me and sat down and immediately asked my name. He had not even been there for two minutes. I was very surprised, especially when, through the course of the night he managed to ask me my views on religion, politics, and my last relationship. Later when talking to my friend, I mentioned that I thought he might be a little weird. :) I remember her laughing and telling me that he seemed like a nice person, however, I was very cautious with guys. I had been in several horrible relationships and did not feel like going out of my way to approach anyone. I had also told myself that it was going to be a long time before I got into a relationship with anyone else.

The next day, Mark and I, and my friend and her date went to dinner together and to see a movie. I had to drive Mark back to his house because his car was in the shop. In those two days, whether I wanted to admit it or not, I was very much in love...or infatuation. :) I kept my date with the guy who had to reschedule, but I told him that I did not want to be involved romantically. I had met my standard and no one else was good enough. I had not even had a call from Mark, and knew that if I never did, he was my standard.

Mark waited 3 days to call me. What he didn't know at the time was that I practically waited by the phone like a schoolgirl because I liked him so much and wanted him to call me. He called me late that third night and all that day I had resigned to myself that he did not want to see me again. What I didn't know was that the very next day after he met me, he called his mom and told her that he found the girl he wanted to marry. I had no idea until his mom told he (after we were engaged), and Mark reaffirmed it. He told me he just knew that I was the girl God had chosen for him after knowing me one day. It took a little longer for me.

I knew that I really liked this guy, however I never let the thought of marriage cross my mind until much later. I wanted to be absolutely certain that he was the man God had chosen for me to marry. I did not introduce him to my family for almost 5 months. I wouldn't let us become "official" until two months after we met. Incidentally, the night Mark asked me officially to be his girlfriend was the night we had gone to the movies with another couple friend and she made the comment to me in private that she knew he was the one for me. I remember almost crying when she told me that. Every other boyfriend or date that I had, she would tell me straight up that they were not the ones for me and that I should not waste my time. In hindsight, it is crazy how much those around you can see what you yourself cannot while you are in the relationship.
I had made some horrible life decisions previously regarding the type of guys I would date and knew that I had made those decisions following my head. God didn't really figure in with my decision making. With Mark, I prayed constantly. We prayed together about our future, we did Bible studies together in my car or at Starbucks and discussed the Scriptures and what our beliefs were. I strongly believe that God needed to be the center of our relationship and marriage for it to be able to thrive, flourish, and grow.

Mark and have been on some roller coaster events during our 3.5 years of being together and I cannot wait to see what the rest of our future holds. Whatever it is, I know that we will emerge stronger as a couple and a family unit in life, and in love.