Wanted to Share

I had a little happy cry night before last as I was going to bed. So often, we only cry when things are going bad, but right now, I’m just so grateful to be at the place I am in life. So many great things are happening and I’m blessed to have an amazing man to share them with. God is good and sometimes, I feel so happy I could burst.

 Also, I wanted to share mine and Stephen's story in one post, because (I kid you not, I get about 20 emails a week from readers saying, "Are y'all that couple that met on Kelly's Korner?!" Ha!)

The tear fest came as I was working on a blog post for next week for my single ladies : )As a semi recent single lady myself, I remember how much I needed encouragement sometimes. It felt like every girl in the South except for me was married by the time they were graduating from college. I found my encouragement through Kelly and her blog, which we all know and love. Her inspiring words of being a former single lady gave me hope that God had someone in store for me, too. Coincidentally enough, I found him through her blog : )

Anyway, so I was working on that blog post (which actually became this blog post) and I started to think back to where I was at this time last year. I was just coming off of a series of truly bad dates, work was getting tougher and more stressful than ever and I was dealing with a little health scare. I was getting wedding invitation after wedding invitation in the mail and (I know this is terrible) I wanted to flush every one of them down the toilet.

It was around that time when I started doing my prayer journal and made a committed effort to become happy with myself. I reconnected with old friends, upped my standards for what I was looking for in a husband and vowed to quit looking in bars and clubs for a soul mate. Just to be clear, I have NEVER been a fan of bars and loud clubs…I don’t like smoke and random intoxicated people aren’t really my thing. It seemed like that was the only place where single guys my age hung out though.

It was difficult at first and I knew it might be quite a while before I went on a real date again. But I knew it was for the best.

All summer I continued to dedicate myself to work, fitness, friends, family and, most importantly, my faith. I started to feel like the old Leslie again, the one who, once upon a time, didn’t pin her every happiness on a significant other.

I found out in July of last year that Kelly was hosting Show Us Your Single Boys. Now, it is SOOOO unlike me to ever put myself out there like that on the web. But something else kind of took over, (hello GOD!) and led me to post a comment on Sarah’s blog, where she had posted about her brother, Stephen.

I commented, immediately felt embarrassed and went on about my day. 24 hours I got an email from a guy named Stephen who worked for a nutrition company and had just finished building his new house. He liked dogs and lakes and Entourage.

I liked dogs and lakes and Entourage…and him.

We talked on the phone a couple of times and went on our first date on July 30, 2010. The rest, as they say, is history.

I remember feeling that night like I had never felt before with a guy. Stephen was different; he was genuine and kind and funny. He opened my car door and pulled my chair out and commented on my toe nail polish (how observant!) We talked openly about our faith and our dreams and our mutual love of Johnny Cash : )

And he was hot. Bonus!

I said all of that to say….if you are out there and currently searching high and low for Mr. Right, quit. Yep, I said quit.

Instead, throw every ounce of your energy into yourself. Reconnect with old friends, start a new hobby, go on a long roadtrip, and most importantly, pray. Pray for God to give you guidance and to keep you strong and to keep you from lowering your standards. HE will not fail you.

It may happen next week, it may happen next year (as it has with me) or it may be a while longer, but eventually, a Stephen will appear. Or an Andrew, or a Luke or a Jonathan. And he will be perfect for YOU.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 3:5-6

Be blessed, lovelies-