My Last First Date

7 years ago tonight, I was getting ready for my last first date (a friend used that term and I liked it.  Thanks, Meghon!).  I was a nervous wreck.  To say it had been a while might have been an understatement.  Had it not been for Will and Spring Tate, I'm pretty sure I would have backed right on out.  Guys made me nervous because somewhere along the way I had decided if I accidentally picked the wrong one, I'd be a miserable girl the rest of my life.  (I went out with a few wrong ones.  I have stories...good stories. But I'll save those for another day...or never.)  But even while I worried, God was guiding.  And even on those days when I tried my hand at one that wasn't just right for me, and got hurt, He was still guiding.

I agreed to a date on a Sunday night after he had football and after I had church.  We went out for Mexican food in Luverne.  He picked me up in his little bitty white car and in the 3 minutes it took us to get there, I remember thinking: 1- He was really cute.  2-He played great music.  3.  I was going to have to roll out on my knees to get out.  (Seriously, the car was low.  It was the first thing to go after I said I do.) We both ate chicken nachos and I use the term "ate" loosely.  I probably didn't eat 3 bites.  We came back and sat on my porch swing...for a long time.  I missed that night's Desperate Housewives.  I should have known then, this was serious business.

I am pretty certain that I did my absolute best to run him off for the first couple of months.  However, 9 months and 5 days after that first date, we were married.  It's not perfect.  He makes me mad.  Some nights we get little to no sleep (our kids are rough bed partners).  We forget to put the trash by the road when the can is overflowing and we don't know how we will fit one more cup in, much less all our trash for a week (that was last night).  I spend too much and he swears we will be eating pork and beans for a month (but my new clothes look cute).  The house gets messy.  I get overwhelmed.  Marriage is tough.  But it's so worth it, too.  And I am so thankful Bradley didn't give up on me.  I'm also thankful that God didn't allow me to settle for less than this, because I am absolutely certain that this was God's BEST for ME.  

It makes me happy to remember these little things.  Maybe it's encouraging for you to read.  It's a reminder of God's faithfulness, and we all need those.  Even those of us who have found our prince often need to be reminded that God's at work in our lives, because sometimes we all feel discouraged.