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how I met my one
I was just a little fed up of not having a girlfriend. I'm sure many reading this will understand how that feels. Growing up in the church youth club provided me with lots of friends, both male and female, who would often link up for teenage romance. I was left out of that scene. It seemed I was forever doomed to be the awkward one, playing gooseberry all the time. It hurt and it got me down.
I got to the point where I was just about at peace with the situation. I felt tired of playing mind games with girls. Besides, all my life I had prayed a quiet but sincere little prayer. It went like this...
'Lord, I just want one, and I want to marry young'.
I never really thought too much about that prayer. In other words, I didn't get hung up about it. Even when I was tormented with loneliness, I still had a glimmer of hope because I knew that God is a faithful God.
On March 28th 2003, across the clichéd crowded room, I saw her. 'Who is that?' I asked my friend say next to me. 'Oh, that's Jess, she's not a student either'. That was all I could get out of him. I had begun hanging out with the Christian Union at the local university since a group of them had begun coming to my church. I was not a student and neither, apparently, was this stunning girl that had burst into my life. Before I got a chance to do or say anything at all, she was gone, and I was left there, shrouded in mystery.
Over the summer of 2003, this Jess character flitted randomly through my life. I would see her at various different functions and events and because I was shy, I never plucked up enough courage to say hello.
Then, Phil, a mutual friend of ours got baptized at my church. Jess came along and after the service, filled with adrenaline having just lead the worship, I said loudly; 'Hey, there's that girl I see everywhere but never get to speak to!'. 'I know!' was the reply. She gave me a lift to the party for Phil at one of the student's houses. We talked. I couldn't believe it was happening.
Over the next few weeks we got to know each other. This was mainly through going out with mutual friends. At one stage I asked my good friend Dave whether he though she liked me 'like that', he said 'to be honest mate, no'. Ah, what did he know?
We began to pray for each other. God quickly established a real connection in our spirits. She would know when I was praying for her. I'd be praying and get a text message saying 'I can feel that you're praying'. And other times I would send her a message with a word or a scripture that was really spot on. It was electrifying.
Having always played silly mind games instead of actually communicating directly to a girl, I decided that this one was going to be different.
I invited her out for a coffee and there I spilled my guts on what I felt for her. It was very liberating, even if it was very scary. I told her I wanted to be her rock and I wanted to be the one she could always rely on.
It was about five days after that we got together. I tell you, that night, the spirit of the Lord fell on us in a mighty way. We were hardly able to walk properly for the next 24 hours. Phone calls were exchanged; 'can you believe this?'. It felt like Jesus himself was in her car as she dropped me home the night we became 'Dave and Jess'.
After two months I knew in my gut she was the one I would marry. My Dad asked me if I thought she was and I just said 'Yes, I do'.
It took a lot of patience and some very rough moments before we were ready for engagement. We were talking and praying and we felt the Lord say to us 'If you want this, you can have it, and I will bless it'. And so, quaking with excitement we mutually agreed to marry. It was another Holy Spirit moment as we got on our knees and praised God.
(c) David Griffiths 2005
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