The beginning...

 . . . I found the one my heart loves. I held him and would not let him go  . . .
Song of Solomon 3:4

Tomorrow I will marry the one my heart loves.  I'm euphoric! Thinking about the future I reflect on the past. Everything that brought us here to where we are now on the eve of our wedding....

The phone rings:

     Hello? I answer.

    His voice responds, ...So what have you been doing the last 12 years?

 Funny and sincere--it was the perfect opening line, but it didn't really start there.

A typical Tuesday few days earlier:
 I was at work, and as always logged into facebook.  I was messaged out of the blue. I read my name in all caps: STEPHANIE!!!!
My name never looked so good to me. I've seen it written my whole life, but never had I seen it and sensed the excitement I sensed from him. My heart danced inside me. I responded with his name in all caps matching his enthusiasm. We spent the next few unproductive days messaging on the social network that reunited us. I know that I for one did nothing but wait in anticipation to get a message and respond. I was desperate to get to know him. I made sure to ask a question with each message that I sent to ensure I got a response from him. The more we messaged, the more I wanted to message. The more I got to know him the more I needed to know him.

In high school he was the boy I always noticed in the hall. I always said hi, smiled, or in some small way acknowledged his existence--which was pretty generous of me considering he was an underclassmen. Every time he looked at me I would wonder what he could be thinking. Could he find me as intriguing as I found him?

Fast forward twelve years. Skip through the heartache and shame of countless failed relationships (mostly mine). I emerge from my apartment wearing a flower in my hair and a little too much perfume. My heart pounds as I lock the door and walk toward his car. I take one deep breath before I open the car door, sit down and play cool. He looks exactly the same. More than a decade later his eyes pull me in again. Turns out he found me intriguing after all.

     It was the kind of first date you see in movies--when you know from the opening scene that the couple just has to end up together. I knew I had to see him again. And again. And again.

Our second date was the very next day. I couldn't wait. After that second date there was no doubt; I loved him. Two weeks later I knew he was meant for me and I him. I found my partner, the one my heart loves.

  The timing was perfect. If we had gotten together back in high school I'm sure he would've been just another one of the many 'failures'. I'm sure I would've sabotaged that relationship as I did with all the relationships of my teens and 20's. The love of my life would have been another casualty of my rebellion and immaturity.  I'm grateful for those years and those failures though. I was able to recognize my mate, able to see him for the important qualities of maturity, faithfulness, and the hard-working, loving father that he is.

  As we approach the next chapter I know it is only the beginning. I'm so excited to start my life and my family with him.  He's everything I never knew I always wanted.
Tomorrow our journey really begins! I can't wait!!