My Love Story- The Prelude

Hello all!

I’ve decided to allow myself to take a bit of a “blogging detour” for the next several posts. As you may or may not know, I AM ENGAGED! I am so excited and thankful that the Lord has brought me to this sweet chapter in my life. My loving God has already begun teaching me so many valuable lessons, drawing me closer to Him, and raining beautiful blessings over my future husband and I. 

After growing up in what one would nicely call "a broken home," seeing and experiencing things that can only be described as traumatizing and horrific, and making plenty of mistakes of my own along the way, I truly thought this day would never come. Even though Jesus Christ has rescued me from my sins and called me His own, even though He has given me joy unimaginable, I am ashamed to say I have caught myself believing these joy-sucking lies at one time or another:

"The odds have been against me from the start. I don't know what love in marriage or love between parents and children is even supposed to look like." 

"I have messed up too many times. I have made too many bad choices. I deserve nothing, and that's probably exactly what I'm going to get." 

"I am irreparably damaged."

What I was forgetting was that God is bigger than all of that. He has already healed me of my past. He has already forgiven me of my sins, and to say that I am damaged goods is not only untrue, but a slap in the face of my Savior. Ephesians says I am His workmanship. Psalms says He knit me together in my mother's womb. Who am I to say that I am powerful enough to mess all of that up? God is good and loving. 

Looking back on the events that brought me to this wonderful place, I am reminded of a story in which God did something similar, but on a MUCH larger scale: 

In the book of Joshua, chapters 3 and 4, God leads His people across the Jordan River, a task that had at first seemed completely impossible. Crossing the Jordan was the final obstacle in an almost half-century-long endeavor by the Israelites to reach the glorious Promised Land. Of course, life was not always rainbows and butterflies once the Israelites reached the Promised Land; in fact, these people faced some of their toughest challenges after said arrival. Nonetheless, the Promised Land was good; it was what they had been waiting for; it was overwhelmingly… right. 

Anyway, back to the Jordan River. When God revealed to the Israelites that they had FINALLY arrived, that they were at long last in the beautiful land they had been searching and hoping for, do you know what He told them to do first?

“Go, enjoy the land! Have fun and be back for dinner! Oh, wait, there’s food here, so I won’t have to do that ‘raining bread from the sky’ thing anymore…”

“Divvy up the land, making sure everyone gets and equal piece! Be nice and share, guys. Don't make me send you to your desert! LOLZ.”

 “Take a naaaap. You people have been working hard. You had a long trip. You’re probably exhausted.”

No. The first thing God commanded of His people was that they build something to help them remember. He didn’t ask for anything fancy. He didn’t ask for anything unreasonable. In fact, all He really requested was for one of each member of the twelve tribes to pick up a big heavy river stone and put it in a giant pile. Why? So that they would remember what God had done to get them to that wonderful place AND so that their kids and grandkids would walk by the river someday and ask, “Hey pops, why is there a big ole stack of unusually well-placed rocks in this random spot by the river?” and they could remember again... and again... for generations.

All of this to say, I’m taking a blogging detour. I want to stop and create something to help me to remember what God has brought me through to get to this place. I want to testify to what God has done. Most of all, I want to thank Him for writing Isaac and me such a beautiful love story, bringing me such an amazing man, and putting people in my life that can train me and support me as I grow and strive to be the woman of God he deserves. 

This is my random rock pile. 

-Chapter one coming soon-