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One of my dearest friends from college is getting married in 8 weeks. She's got thick blonde hair and green eyes that sparkle when she laughs, which is often. She can light up a room with her bubbly warm personality and has an incredible gift for connecting with people. You can talk with her once and feel like you've known her for years. Her passion for ministry is inspiring. She's always been wise beyond her years and someone I admire spiritually. When we met freshman year, I thought for sure she'd be the first in our friends circle to get married.
But God asked her to wait and the girl that I thought was so amazing at 18 is far more captivating now at 30. Her soon-to-be husband is getting a woman whose faith is that much stronger after years of prayerfully waiting, using her single years to bless and serve others and allowing life's trials to make her better instead of bitter. Her journey has brought me to tears many times - sometimes with frustration ("Why? Lord, how much longer must she wait?) and later with tears of joy when she met The One.
That's the story I want to share with you today. How she met her fiance, Jeff. (this story is reposted with permission) May this rekindle the hope for those of you who are waiting!
"How We Met" written by Jamie & Jeff
Background:
Jamie had a suitcase rolling around in her trunk for a few weeks and on a whim, decided to try and get $15 for it by selling it on Craigslist.
Jeff travels...a lot. A WHOLE two days before departing for China, Jeff realized he needed a new suitcase and thought he would try his luck on Craigslist.
Meanwhile, Jamie placed an ad for her suitcase on Craiglist and in what can only be attributed to the providence of God, missed the first two callers wanting to buy the suitcase and just "happened" to pick up Jeff's call one afternoon on October 11, 2009.
Meeting:
Content to drive over that evening after a close third set victory in his weekly doubles tennis match, and now a mere 36 hours before his departure to China, Jeff ventured to Raleigh to buy a suitcase.
* Jamie's interpretation: Ha! What Jeff meant to say was he called back that afternoon and made Jamie wait ALL day so he could play tennis before he came for the suitcase. Jamie had to rearrange her plans and invited a dear friend to come over and pretend to be her roommate so that this "stranger" wouldn't know she lived alone.
First Impressions:
Upon arrival at Jamie's beautiful apartment, Jeff was greeted by two lovely ladies and a furry white cat. Unlike most Craigslist transactions which are finished in under a minute, Jeff soon realized they had a lot in common and ended up chatting for a while before getting down to business.
Jamie opened the door that night to a cutie standing in her doorway, so polite and sincere, and she too recognized they shared a lot in common.
Suitcase Anyone?
Armed with his good looks, charm, and fine-tuned negotiation skills, Jeff knew he wanted to buy the bag before he arrived, but fully intended on walking away with it for just $10. What Jeff didn't expect was that Jamie believed $15 for the bag she paid $80 for was already a steal.
* Jamie's thought - $10??? Who does this guy think he is?! He makes me wait ALL day, and on top of that he tries to use his Chinese negotiation skills on me??? But then again, look at how cute he is. Nope, don't get distracted. "$15" Jamie says, "Take it or leave it."
Still on his high from winning his tennis match, Jeff didn't feel too sad about paying $15 for a nice big bag for his trip to China. He left happy and excited about the possibility of getting to know Jamie better upon his return.
When Jeff left, Jamie and her pretend roommate did the silent girl scream, hands flailing in air which can only mean in girl language, "Oh my gosh, he's so handsome and what might God be up to?"
To Be Continued. . .
