Forty-five days…
As I blog, I learn. Learn about what, you ask? Well, it’s an array of things. I obviously blog a lot of biblical subject matter, which keeps me studying the word of God; but I’m also learning to yield my “inner shy girl’s heart” with a vast group of people who probably share a whole different perspective on similar topics. And that, in and of itself, is scary to me.
I met my husband when I was 12. We both attended a weekend youth retreat that a local church was hosting. It was mid-fall, and the sun was setting early in the evening. I was sitting in the back of a minivan with two other friends. As I looked out the window, I saw the silhouette of a boy who walked up to one of the youth leaders and began to joke with him. I realize what I am about to say is going to sound crazy, but I promise you it’s true. From the very moment I laid eyes on him, I felt heat shoot through my body like lightning. I was instantaneously attracted to him, and I had not even seen his face. My explanation for that fraction of a second in time is one word, which is three letters long, G-O-D. GOD! I’ve been asked if I believe in love at first sight. My answer is, “Yes,… emphatically yes!”
So, since I had what I refer to as a “God moment,” (with the lightning sensation and all) you would think we met at that retreat, fell madly in love, and from the tender ages of 12 and 13 lived happily ever after, right? My 7th grade best friend tried her best to make it happen. She was the go-between. She pestered him with all kinds of questions. You know what I mean,… the important, deep questions of life,… “Do you think she’s pretty?” She worked very hard at making sure he would ask me to “go” with him. (Wow, that phrase is like so totally retro!) Guess what? He did… but I was shy, so very, very, painfully shy, that because I couldn’t find the gumption to string even two words together, he broke up with me a short ten minutes later. He was downright cruel, that man of mine! It took me two years to win his heart after that.
I had to learn to come out of my shell and speak. It seems ridiculous, but I remember seeing him at a local amusement park the following summer. He had just stepped soaking wet off a water ride. My friends and I saw him, and I produced all the boldness and wit I could muster and said, “A little wet there?” He gave me a big smile and started laughing while answering, “Yes.” After that moment, the entire rest of my summer was made up of candy bars with no calories and rainbows… It was dreamy!
I digress… my point in all of this is I’m learning to put my shy heart aside and dream publicly. I’m sharing with each of you who I am and hoping against hope you’ll understand me. God has a way of pointing us in the right direction, but that doesn’t mean things are going to be easy. I know the example of my teenage heart doesn’t hold a candle to some difficult issues many of you are facing. I have those stories as well, but I’m saving them for another day. The point I’m trying to make to you today is this, “Do not be afraid to step out in faith! Live your dreams. Follow what God is telling you to do and continue to persevere. Today is a brand new day. Face your giant!”
Romans 5:3-4
And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope.
