From the Other Side

(As promised. Forgive the delay AND the hiatus. Someday, life will allow time for blogging again. Hopefully sooner than later!)

My, my, just seeing that old picture of Katie in the yellow dress brings back the most special, warm memories of that year (1998). That was a most difficult summer leading up to July. I had come to Fort Worth to visit only for a couple of weeks. Camp Travis was the agenda and I was looking forward to seeing all my Texas friends again. I was really curious to know where Katie and I would pick up from as it seemed we were showing more interest in one another than just being friends before I left for the year. I played it cool for the most part not wanting her to catch onto my curiosity. I remember gathering in the Travis sanctuary for a camp briefing and trying to find her among all the youth who were gearing up for camp.

(This time in my life was particularly hard because I was wrestling with God about some spiritual things. There was a girl I liked back home but I knew she was not what God had in mind for me and I fought hard against God on this. Thanks to a band called Plankeye, and a song called "Thrice," I was nudged by the Spirit towards obedience - but kicking and screaming. Little did I know what God had in store just around the corner (well, across the country) that summer. I arrived in Texas with lingering feelings over my battle and was probably pretty distracted.)

Distracted, I managed to not make much of a deal reconnecting with Katie at camp. I remember wanting to run into her, but in my stubbornness didn't go out of my way to find her. In fact, I didn't see much of her all week - until the last night. She found me hanging out on a low stone wall and we began catching up. This lasted for some time and I remember the complete change that happened in me through that conversation. I knew I would jump back on a plane in only a few more days, but I can remember hearing in my spirit - she's worth it. I had not dated before Katie and certainly had no prior intentions of starting a long distance relationship that week, that trip, and especially that night. BUT, she was worth it. Those feelings only grew stronger over the next couple of days until flight day.

The morning came for me to make the hour or so trip to DFW and head back to Virginia for the rest of the summer. Dave and I had a serious talk about Katie following camp but the idea didn't enter my mind twice about pursuing anything just yet. I arrived at the airport and proceeded to check-in. Fortunately (all things considered), I had missed my flight. Not by an hour, but by a day! I had the right flight time but had gone by what I was told on the phone and not what my flight itinerary said. Dave had gone in with me and we had a quick, serious talk about what to do. I convinced him to let me change my flight for another week or so later, and in light of my recent discoveries with Katie, this was a very exciting (and interesting) thing.

The situation with Dave and Christy taking out Katie for a babysitter's overview later that day setup perfectly our first Reata "date." Dave and I began quickly scheming about the evening. The original plans certainly did not include the Reata and with Katie taking church pictures that day, she would be all dolled up for this "first date." In her mind, I was long gone to Virginia. But, I showed up at her front door when she was to be picked up and the night went from there. Immediately, when she got in the car with me (both of us in the back seat), I felt it was "us."

It didn't take long for me to be completely won over and my world in those final Texas summer days was filled with wanting to spend every moment with her.

The morning before I was to fly out was a very tough one. Not because I was going to be leaving Katie, but because of the conversation I was going to have with my mom. I knew I needed to stay and after already pushing my flight back once, I knew this would be hard for my mom to hear. I remember spending the minutes before I called her crying on Dave's couch - this was a difficult thing for a 18 yr. old. "Mom, I think I need to stay for the rest of the summer…I think she's the one," I said on the phone. Without missing a beat, my mom had told me that she had been praying since I left that I would find the person God had for me. (We had had a conversation about girlfriend stuff before I left for Camp Travis and she was in deep prayer for me during this time - I found out later). She not only let me stay for the rest of the summer, she did it with her blessing and encouragement (I wouldn't have stayed otherwise).

Again, I changed my date for the trip back to DFW and waited to surprise Katie (yet again) with the news. This was the beginning of "us."