March 18th

No, you haven't accidentally gotten into the archives. March 18th is the day I'm fixin' to write about. And some of you are going to be very happy to read this post.

As you might remember, our conversation the night before had been deeply heavy. And though I felt better in the morning, I needed the reassurance of his voice. So...I called him first thing - before I even got out of bed. The problem was, we were so great at talking, that we just kept talking...and talking...and talking. Next thing I knew, it was 7:30, and I had to go to work. At that point I declared I had to get up. Had to. The hair day, I knew, was already a complete loss, and truthfully, I would have rather skipped the whole thing and stayed home talking to him. But I was raised with a good work ethic, so I reluctantly said goodbye and scurried into the bathroom to try to salvage some sort of look for the day.

Not four minutes after we stopped talking, he texted… “I’m already looking forward to talking to you again!” Yes, I loved that boy.

I went to work and stayed busy doing all the normal stuff that morning, because that afternoon was scheduled to be packed with meetings. You should I know I also loathe meetings. If I ran the office, we would never have a meeting. Ever. Just as I was leaving my desk to go into the first meeting of the afternoon, Isaac texted to see if I could call him when I had a chance. My heart began to pound. Something had to be wrong. He knew I couldn’t make personal calls at work, and if he was asking me to call…something must be dreadfully wrong. Needless to say, I comprehended very little of the meeting as I theorized no less than a hundred things that could be so wrong.

The minute the meeting ended, I beelined it to my office to text him. I couldn’t call, since staff meeting was about to begin, but I had to know what was going on. I asked if everything was okay, and he texted back, “Oh yes. Just wanted to see if you’d be able to meet me for supper tonight.”

I nearly dropped the phone on the floor. I actually may have screamed right there in my office. I literally stuttered back a response of “Yes! How…Why??...I have to go to staff meeting but I’ll call you as soon as I get out.” I was visibly shaking as I walked into staff meeting and mouthed to my boss, “I have a date TONIGHT!” (Please let the record show this was still over a week earlier than our scheduled date at Nate's house.)

Staff meeting was mercifully short and the moment it was over, I scrambled into the hall to call Isaac . He told me a family friend had passed away out of state and he and his parents were meeting up at Nate's that evening to travel to the funeral the following day. He could come early enough to meet me if I’d be able to go on a date.

How much did I regret not doing my hair that day!?!? But of course I said yes. My boss offered to let me go early (because she understands the importance of the romantic heart), but I felt guilty leaving work to prepare for a date, so I stayed. Didn’t really accomplish any work, but I stayed.

After work I scurried home to redo my makeup - or was it do my makeup, since I hadn't really had time to do much with it that morning? Again, I tried to salvage the by-now-sadly-product-laden-hair. And then there was the issue of finding a cute outfit. March 18th in Indiana is an unfortunate gamble of choosing between winter clothes (which by this time I was sorely tired of seeing) and summer clothes, (which are not only too lightweight, but are also pitifully wrinkled from months of being squished in storage.) I had little time to figure this out, so I settled on a red t-shirt with blue flip flops on them, my cute new jeans, and red ballet slipper shoes. The red t-shirt was on top of the storage stack and could be easily ironed, and red is my power color, so I would be less likely to stress about the hair if I wore it. The jeans were just cute - no two ways about it. And the ballet slippers would ensure that I was the appropriate amount of SHORT next to him.

I got in the car and for the second time in four days, made my way down the interstate. (Remember my disdain for the interstate?) We’d decided to meet at an Olive Garden about an hour from my house.

I called my friend Ronda on the drive down and squealed in her ear. Over and over I yelled “I can’t believe this! Oh my word!” She just laughed at my silliness and kept me from passing out as I hurried toward Olive Garden.

Isaac miscalculated the amount of time it would take him to get there and he actually arrived about ten or fifteen minutes before I did. He put in our names and waited inside for me to arrive. My heart pounded as I parked and walked toward the building. I was about to see the man I knew I loved. The man I knew I wanted to marry! Would he look like his pictures? Would he like me?

I remember looking up while still several hundred feet away and seeing a tall man hesitantly walk outside and toward me. He waved and I waved in return. We’d previously discussed the hug vs. handshake issue and had agreed we were hugging people. I hurried toward him and we crashed into each other in a somewhat awkward hug. He was sure tall! I wondered what the people inside thought as they looked outside. Did they know this was the first meeting of two soulmates? Did they know how pivotal this day? The unexpected blessing of this day?

We laughed nervously, went inside, found ourselves led toward a booth, and were seated across from each other. He ate lasagna and I choked down half a breadstick and a few bites of salad. (I was never prouder of my first-date-eating.) After we ate at Olive Garden, we got in his SUV and headed to Starbucks for some coffee. The Starbucks was officially the smallest Starbucks in the tri-state area, and its grand total of two tables were already occupied. We wanted to have a heart to heart talk without eavesdroppers so we elected to leave and go back to the Olive Garden parking lot to talk in his SUV.

My thoughts about the evening as captured later in my journal were as follows:

My date with Isaac? HAPPENED TODAY! I did not have my hair done – I was a frightful mess – and at the last minute he called to say he’d be close enough to have dinner.

Oh God, my heart is so full – how do I even put it into words? My heart is overflowing with gratitude. He met me with a hug. He held my hands. He called me beautiful. He paid and prayed for dinner. He kept me pretty close to him in Starbucks. He shared his heart with me in the car.

I never thought I would say this, but I feel You are blessing this. I’m so thankful for Your peace.

He prayed at the end of the date. How much have I longed for that!?!?! He prayed for me and for us and asked Your direction and guidance. My heart melted right there.

I wish there were words to capture this one. My favorite moment of the date was when we sat in his SUV and I laid my head on his arm and we listened to “This is What it Feels Like.” What a tender moment! How can I thank You enough?

I’m claiming this from Streams for both of us – “There is a place of stillness that allows God the opportunity to work for us and give us peace. It is a stillness that ceases our scheming, self-vindication and the search for a temporary means to an end through our own wisdom and judgment. Instead it lets God provide an answer, through His unfailing and faithful love, to the cruel blow we have suffered. Oh, how often we thwart God’s intervention on our behalf by taking up our own cause or by striking a blow in our own defense! May God grant each of us this silent power and submissive spirit.”

I had no idea those words were going to point to a huge battle – a huge need for His intervention in our lives.

When the date was over and we had to part ways, I called Mom to admit to her I’d been on a date. I shared with her as much as I dared about Isaac.

At the end of our talk, she said, “Well it sounds like this guy walks on water.” I said, “No he does not. He is wonderful in every way, but he does not walk on water.”

At one in the morning, after his family had gone to bed, he and I were texting and he said to me, "I can’t wait to see you again…I miss you. I must say goodnight and sweet dreams for now. I can’t wait to talk with you again.”