in Love (part 1)

This week was an anniversary (of sorts) for my hubby and I . Last year on Labor Day, we met for lunch, then had coffee, then went for a walk in the woods, then watched the sunset together... then drove home very quickly because we were both suddenly very confused. When I walked in the door and my mom asked me how the day was, I responded,

"That was the most romantic non-date I've ever had."

We were both very happy that this year was much less confusing.

So in honor of this being Labor Day week and all, I decided I would finally post "our story." (Especially for my friends in Tanzania who had never heard of Mike until I announced that I was going to marry him. :)


Our story begins over 10 years ago at The Ohio State University. In 2002 I had just graduated with my Chemistry degree when I took a camping trip with a group of friends from a campus ministry called Mosaic Church. I was still brand new to playing my guitar but of course I brought it along anyway since you have to have music around a campfire... but it gets dark around a campfire and when you can't see the chords on the page or your fingers on the strings and it doesn't really matter anyway because you're not playing any of the songs that you practiced with the other guys... you put your guitar down and decide to sing along with everybody else. and that's when I noticed Mike, illuminated by the firelight, strumming away on songs that seemed ridiculously hard for me. It seemed like he could play any song, any rhythm, any style... even in the dark! I was so impressed. :) (He had already noticed me at a leader's meeting, impressed by my openness and vulnerability. If you've ever been in a Bible study with me you know that I can only last so long before spilling my guts out to everybody and their mother.) Mike was still in his third year, working on his engineering degree. We had actually been living in the same dorm for almost two years, but we never noticed each other. I was friends with two of his roommates, but we had never really connected. And now that he had caught my eye with his amazing music skills... I had to stay far away from him since he was dating one of my friends.

As I got my first teaching jobs and Mike graduated, we stayed close friends... traveling to concerts in Cleveland, both being part of the wedding party in a friends ceremony, hanging out for coffee/tea... but never alone. Mike was that guy that I was always attracted to and always respected... the guy that I compared every other guy to... the guy that I had no hope of ever being with since he married someone else right out of college. You know that friend of mine he was dating? Yep, he married her.

and yep, I was a bridesmaid in the wedding.

Yes, I realize that most love stories don't begin with "and I was a bridesmaid" but Mike and I look back and find evidence of these 2 things...
1) God is sovereign.
2) He always has been and always will be holding onto us.

I'll post Part 2 (aka How Mike and I went from "just friends" to "um.... are we... uh, are we still just friends?") on Monday. Happy Weekend!