I wrote my previous post almost a year ago now. A lot has happened in that time. A lot of good, some shadows, but the end result is going to be amazing and I can only thank God for hearing this poor man's cry.
The Sunday after I wrote that post, I'd stayed up late. Didn't plan on going to church the following morning. Nowhere in the radius of my meager gas budget seemed worth my time.
God had other plans.
What I say next may sound crazy, or supersticious, but regardless of opinion, it happened. To me.
I woke up early the next morning. It was like God was telling me to get my butt out of bed & go to church.
I felt strangely rested, despite having been up til 3 or 4 am. I didn't have "I'm tired" as an excuse. I had "church" clothes clean, no excuse there.
I was grasping at straws, "God, there's nowhere worth going, I'm treated like a leper everywhere." I pleaded.
But a specific place kept coming up in my mind. A specific church, well within my gas limitations.
I had no excuse left, so I got dressed & ready. Googled service times in a last ditch effort to find any reason to stay home. No excuse there.
As I drove to this church I'd never been to, I kept telling God, "if nobody says hi to me, or makes me feel welcome, I'm not staying. I'm walking out."
I didn't know anyone there and was so fed up with "Christians" not being kind to me I really didn't feel like getting hurt again.
I arrived at the building and went inside. At first, I stood awkwardly inside the sanctuary. For a few tense minutes, I was hopeful I'd get to leave this foreign place. Then a couple of people started to talk to me. I don't remember who they were, but my initial instinct was they didn't really feel like saying hello, they just felt obligated to.
I was within a hair's breadth of walking out.
I was within a hair's breadth of missing out on the biggest and best thing that ever happened to me.
As I was talking to those ladies, a vaguely familiar face came across the sanctuary, smiling.
I had met this girl while working and hanging out at a game store I had been employed at, Boardwalk and Park Place. Her name, as she reminded me at the time, was Lydia. I'd always had fun talking with her whenever she'd stop by the store to hang out.
We got to talking, she invited me to sit with her.
She was friendly. Something I didn't expect out of any Christian. Not from my past few years' experience.
I got to know her better & better over the next few weeks, glad to finally have a friend I could talk to about anything and everything. She didn't judge the mistakes I had made, and she and I had an endless ammount of interests and similarities.
I always looked forward to chatting with "my little friend" as I thought of her. (Sorry, Lydi, I don't know if I ever told you that.. :) )
Then she threw me a curve ball. Part of me way down deep had suspected this, but I disbelieved my suspicion enough the revelation took me back.
Lydia told me she had developed feelings for me.
I was kinda pleasantly surprised, but scared spitless at the same time.
But one thing finally won out, an old piece of wisdom; "you marry your best friend."
And Lydia had swiftly become that.
I don't trust easily. Not anymore. But that sweet little angel had done more to earn my trust in a few weeks than many had done in years. And she still does.
I could go into a lot more, but I won't here.
The rest, as both Lydia and I like to call it, is, "A Love Story."
We're engaged to be married this coming October. I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with her. She's amazing. No person is perfect, I get that. But God made her perfect for me, and I'm eternally grateful.
Thank you, Lydia. You're an amazing girl, a wonderful woman, and I love you with all my heart.
