“For everything there is a season and a time for every
purpose." ~ Ecclesiastes 3:1
Ours was not your typical
storybook romance. Yet when you truly
love someone, distance and time barely matter.
We lived down the street from each other half of our lives. One of my earliest memories is playing ‘Dance,
Dance Revolution’ with Julian and kissing him on the cheek. He got mad and said "If you do that
again, I'm going home!"
He was a bit shy but I continued to have a crush on him as
we grew up. Did I mention that he became
ridiculously good looking in his teens?
One night at a high school football game, he mentioned that
he’d enlisted in the U.S. Army. For
whatever reason, we began messaging each other for hours on end; conversations
that eventually revealed our mutual attraction for one another. Before the season ended, Julian asked me to
be his date for the Homecoming Dance.
Following graduation, he left for basic training. While learning how to communicate with him by
snail mail, he was becoming a dedicated, hardworking Infantryman. We fell in love ... one letter at a time.
His first deployment lasted 11 months. Little did I know that when I went to welcome
him home, Julian asked me to marry him right in the airport. I learned later that he designed the ring while
in Afghanistan. He even showed me the
date on the receipt to prove it.
We were married before he returned overseas. Not exactly an ideal way to start off a
marriage. He'll be back in the U.S. for
good in 10 months.
Yes, the restricted communication when he's away is tough. Yes, the "see you soon’s" are
excruciating. But when we reunite and I
get to jump back into his loving arms, I'm convinced it's worth it. Because every heartbreaking goodbye is NOTHING
compared to each heartwarming hello. Anything
worth having is worth waiting for.
Waiting is a part of life. Even if you marry young, like we did, you
still end up waiting. There’s always
something on the horizon, just out of your reach. Graduation, a job, an experience, a dream
you’re working toward — the list is endless.
The trick is to learn how to wait well.
More important than finding your spouse is becoming the kind
of person who’s ready to get married. All we can do is work hard to become the kind
of person Jesus calls us to be.
Waiting is active, not passive. Trust God, do good, dig in, get
comfortable with who you are, enjoy every sunrise, commit, be still — 7
staccato commands (Psalm 37) all leading to “wait patiently” for the Lord to
reveal His plan for you. God uses
seasons of waiting to make us more like himself.
Father, did You hear my prayer? Please forgive my impatience. Still my mind as I await Your presence and
divine intervention. Your timing is
always perfect and, even as I pray for what I think I deserve, You always bless
me with what’s best. Amen
