The way we were

So I entered a silly radio contest on Praise 106.5 FM this morning and I hope we win. It's a Valentine's Day "His & Hers" weekend:

Two nights accomodation at the ROSEDALE on ROBSON All Suite Hotel in Vancouver, the Vancouver Canucks Hockey Game and a delicious dinner at Zachary's Restaurant and the ballet!

As a Valentine's Day tribute to my hubby, here is what I wrote. (And obviously, this is the Reader's Digest version, as my mum would say.)

This may be a long explanation of our journey but we both consider it a testimony to God’s faithfulness and wisdom:

In January of 2004, I had just returned home to B.C. from a three-month trip to Europe. I got a job at an Irish pub-style family restaurant. We had to wear kilts, knee socks, sporrans…the whole get up. I think I was hired strictly because of my red hair and freckles – I fit the part perfectly.

As time went on, I noticed one of the regulars, Wayne, who was a real goof but nice anyway. I wasn’t attracted to him and actually found his attention a little uncomfortable. He took a liking to me right away, but, having learned my lesson the hard way, I had decided never to date a non-believer again. It was just too complicated. I was never really into dating much and I wanted to wait for the right time. Wayne was persistent, though, and although God graciously gave me kind words to continually turn down his requests to spend time together, he seemed convinced that we should “go out,” assuring me we’d have a great time.

That summer, because he knew the owner of the restaurant so well, he had booked off a Friday night for me and bought tickets to a concert he knew I wanted to see, even though he knew nothing about the band. I tried to get out of it, not really wanting to be alone for an ENTIRE evening with him. But it seemed I had no excuse left. So, being the individual girl I am, I stated I would only go if he let ME take HIM out for dinner first, because I didn’t want to owe him anything. It was a deal.

That “outing,” as I call it (he still calls it our first “date”), was the beginning of a deepening friendship that lasted about a year-and-a-half. The more we hung out, even in groups, the more he asked about my convictions and why I was able to hold so strongly onto my faith. As I went through a year of Bible school, starting that September, part of which was to refrain from dating, he backed off significantly and began attending a church of his own. I still had no feelings for him romantically, but as he enquired, I shared with him as platonically as possible (via emails and phone calls) everything I was learning, which sparked in him more and more questions. He began to attend Alpha and even went to a Men’s retreat. It was there, on April 16, 2005, that he gave his heart to Christ. My entire class had been praying fervently for him and we rejoiced together in his commitment. It was then that God opened my eyes to the man He had prepared my heart for – Wayne. I had never looked at him romantically before. And all of a sudden, when his spirit changed, it hit me like a ton of bricks. “I will marry this man.” Thankfully, I kept this to myself for a while, prayerfully considering how this evolution of feelings could happen!

At the end of our school year a month later, we went on a missions trip to the Dream Centre in L.A. and down to our sister church in Jamaica to build a house. Besides my parents, Wayne was the only person I kept in touch with. I prayed and pined away for him, begging God to be honest with me – was this really it? Was he really the one? It seemed too easy – I just couldn’t imagine my life without him. I filled almost an entire journal with prayers about him and wrote him a letter every day (which he didn't receive until I returned).

A week after coming back from the trip, we began dating and were engaged six months later. What an adventure!

We are so grateful to God for bringing us together in the most unlikely of ways.

Happy Valentine's Day, honey.