It's safe to say that I am quick to forget about this little corner of the internet and I have yet to keep up on my health updates (check back next week for the latest news). You might have thought that I didn't have anything interesting going on, however, my life the last 12 months have been anything but boring. In order to catch you up, I will have to go back to June 2014.
In light of my health issues, I had quit my job at a local bakery and been focusing on my schooling for about 3 months now. Out of nowhere, a young lady called me asking if I would be interested in an office job. Due to the lower amount of hours as well as greatly reduced physical stress on my body by comparison to the bakeries, I accepted. I quickly learned that my position would be a replacement for the secretary who was getting married in mid July. Thanks to the solitude and lighter work load, we were able to spend a lot of time, in between phone calls and paperwork, chatting about her wedding and her fiance. She told me about her dreams, their relationship thus far, her family and his as well. I learned that she had a younger sister who was a couple years younger than me and he had two younger brothers. His youngest brother was also engaged to be married roughly nine months after they were and the middle brother was single.
Something about the way she spoke of the middle brother pulled on my heart to pray for him. She had shared that his life had carried him through some really tough moments but that his heart was good. I figured I must be crazy for allowing this stranger's words about another stranger to affect me. However, many other situations in my past had taught me that God places people in our lives and on our hearts for a reason, so I began praying.
Two weeks into beginning my training, she invited me to attend her bridal shower. Of course I went! No one turns down an opportunity to celebrate with a soon-to-be-bride. While at the party, I met her sister and mom, as well as her future mother-in-law (Mrs. S). All of these ladies were so kind but I almost didn't want to leave because I was sure I would never see these women again. I remember every single conversation I had with Mrs. S and how she as well as a friend of hers tried to match make me with a young man from their church. {It wasn't until much later that I would find out that this "single young man" was actually Mrs. S's middle son.}
A couple days later, at work, my coworker gave me an invitation to another wedding party being thrown for her by Mrs. S at their house. I was again pleasantly surprised to be invited to take part in another party so I went. The drive out to their house seemed to take forever but the "back country roads", as I considered them, were gorgeous and their neighborhood was stunning. Once we arrived, Mrs. S greeted us and we had another wonderful evening celebrating my coworker's upcoming wedding.
We were all getting ready to leave when a young man came downstairs to grab some cake. I don't remember there being any introductions but I can't lie, he caught my eye. He was a handsome guy standing a tad taller than me, tan complexion (which lets face it, anything is tan compared to me haha), dark brown hair and beard, and gorgeous light brown eyes. For someone who hid behind the lady of the hour and tried to not make eye contact, I am still impressed with how well I remember him from that night. All the other girls knew him from church so there were plenty of people to keep his attention off me, which was perfectly fine, but I was listening and paying close attention.
I had already made the connection that this was David, the single middle son, and I was cautious about how I was going to allow myself to feel about him. He was handsome as all get out but I didn't know him personally so that was that. Not to mention the fact that once my coworker got married and moved across the country, I would never see these people again. Despite my emotional nature, I attempted to be realistic and level headed...which for me meant hiding and internally cramming every little emotion-driven thought back into the little corner of my heart that they belonged in. On my own though, I would admit that I felt like a little school girl, swooning over the handsome jock who walked by, thinking that he loves me merely because we shared the same air for a split second.
But the night ended and I was back in my bed thinking that I was crazy about having a crush on a guy that I only knew about secondhand and only seen once in person....never to be seen again.
Once again I was proven wrong when my coworker expressed how much she had enjoyed our work friendship and how she wanted me to celebrate with her on her wedding day as well.
It was a beautiful wedding and all was well until the receiving line, when the bride and groom, along with their family, are congratulated. I shook everyone's hand and expressed my congratulations until I got to the flower girl. She was a cute little lady and I remember leaning down to whisper "You're so pretty! I love your dress!" only to hear "Well, I think you're really pretty" slip between the lips of the fine young man standing next to her. You are exactly right, it was David...that sly middle son who was trying to be nice and compliment me.
What David wasn't aware of was my intentions to stay far from him, for fear of being a silly school girl in his presence and making a fool of myself. All I could muster as a response was "Well, I think that is my cue to leave." I walked away with cheeks embarrassingly red, I am sure. I had never had a guy compliment me in such a fashion, or maybe I had conveniently forgotten....either way, I had no idea how to maintain my original goal and tactfully accept such a compliment. So I did what my brain told me to, which was to call in reinforcement on my poor little emotional heart and place it under lock and key until I could leave the following reception.
Celebrations followed nearby and I was grateful to have been placed at the table with the young ladies I had gotten to know at the parties. One of the ladies didn't show so there was an open seat and at some point, the maid of honor had left her seat open temporarily. One of the young men, Jeff, from the church came over and started chatting with his friends at "my" table. He soon turned to me asking if I was interested in David, if I'd be willing to dance with him, if I wanted his number, etc. I was sure that my cover was blown and that David had sent Jeff over to harass me as a sort of wing man. I was beyond displeased by the time David made his way over to the table. What? Were we in grade school again? I thought he must be out of his mind to attempt a relationship on such shallow terms. He sat down and asked me if anyone was going to drink the unclaimed water. I snapped at him telling him he could have it along with all the other things at that open seat. Ok, so I might have tossed the name plate and favor over toward him while I was being rude but I am very ashamed of my words and actions that night so you can now forget the last few sentences ;).
It didn't take but a second for me to regret how I treated him. I remembered back to the conversations with the bride at work...."He needs good loyal friends who are going to keep pointing him back to Christ" "He needs someone to show him Christ-like love" "He is a good guy with a great heart, he just hasn't had the best experiences". That whole night was me feeling relieved that I didn't have someone pursuing me any longer but also sickening remorse for how I treated a person I knew could use a true friend. That night I went home and prayed for David, asking forgiveness for how I treated him. Again, I thought I would never see him again, nor his family.....or so I thought.
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