Once Alex realized his mistake, he called me to apologize for forgetting our appointment. For various reasons, we never got around to rescheduling. I wasn’t in a hurry to fix the bike after that anyway because I came down with Walking Pneumonia! Unfortunately, my recovery was long and drawn out because, as an hourly employee without vacation built up, I absolutely had to work to pay my bills. Interestingly enough, Alex caught wind of my situation (through our mutual matchmaker, Keith) and felt the Lord’s leading to offer his assistance in whatever ways he could.
Most people are just being polite when they ask a sick friend, “Is there anything I can do?” right? Well, when Alex called and asked me that very question, I actually decided to take him up on it. I asked him if he would take me grocery shopping (which was just as much outside my comfort zone as it was his). After working each day, my exhausted little body didn’t have the energy to do it all alone; this was one way I could ask for tangible assistance. And Alex said yes.
And so it was, Wednesday, October 1st, 2003, Alex came to my apartment and picked me up at 5:00 PM. As we drove towards the grocery store, I said, “Have you had dinner yet?” He said no, so I insisted we get something to eat first—“You know you’re not supposed to go food shopping on an empty stomach!” He thought I was making it up, but I know most of the world recognizes my supposition as fact.
After ordering at IHOP, I felt it was important to clear the air. “I wanted to apologize if I came across as rude and for the way I treated you in general when I first moved down here. It wasn’t personal.”
“That’s good to know,” he said. He seemed relieved to know that I didn’t actually hate him.
Later on towards the end of our meal, I said, “So how’s your girlfriend?” remembering his companion from our last meeting in person.
“What girlfriend?”
Oh dear. Hold up. Red flag. Wait a sec. You do have a girlfriend, don’t you? I haven’t been sitting here with my guard completely down, carelessly spilling my guts to…a single, available male, have I?
“Do you mean Melody? She and I broke up in July,” he added.
Right then, I knew. When Alex wasn’t looking, I sunk my face into my hands and sighed to myself, “I’m gonna marry him,” as I realized my plight against distractions was coming to an end.
After the shopping was finished and Alex was on his way home, I flipped on my computer and began to chat with Keith online. I relayed the evening’s story, confessing with certainty our destined marriage.
At that very moment, Alex was talking on the phone with Keith, informing him of the same conclusion.
We consider that night to be our first “unofficial” date. This October 1st will be ten years.
We were married in March of 2005. At the end of that year, when I began my Writer’s Notebook, I emailed Jim again, letting him know that his visions of me in discipleship school and meeting someone special had fully come to pass. He felt the Lord had a few more words to share with me at that time:
The Lord says, “I have given you many talents. I have trained you to lead, I have given you the personality to command, and I have given you the ability to write. In this season as you learn not only to hear My voice, but to obey immediately, you will also learn to stand in the midst of persecution, for as it was with me, so it will be with you. I have gone before you to prepare the way; you will not miss me or fail. You have chosen Me over all. Now daughter, I choose you. In this next season, you will be writing a book that I will use to open doors of ministry for you.”
Since I first received that word from Jim, I have received many like it regarding this book that I am working on now. Where I once thought my ADD would stand in the way of me writing a book, the blog has given me the opportunity to write piece by piece with the hope of one day combining the pieces into one overall whole. Each day, as I see more and more details and circumstances “circling,” I am reminded constantly of Philippians 1:6 (AMP), “And I am convinced and sure of this very thing, that He Who began a good work in you will continue until the day of Jesus Christ [right up to the time of His return], developing [that good work] and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in you.”
The Art of Choosing True Life 