Worth Waiting For

Several times, while I was reminiscing with old friends and thinking back about my life 10 years ago, I kept thinking about how much time I spent worrying and thinking about who I would marry. I think that is a common thing most girls consume themselves with. I even hear our Junior Highers talking about it a lot. I made list after list about what I hoped "Mr. Right" would be like and what his name might be. I don't think I ever came up with someone named Travis, but I do remember wondering if "he" was someone I knew or someone I would meet later. While I was reflecting back on all of that, I was reminded of how good the Lord has been to me, bringing me the man of my dreams and then some! Travis is such a great answer to all my prayers and the one I never would have found on my own. I'm very grateful for the way we met and for how he's changed my life. !0 years ago I never would have dreamed I'd marry a handsome Texan, but God always knew.

Before we got married, I was home, looking through boxes of old stuff when I found something that I couldn't get over. On April 2, 1998 I wrote a prayer in one of my journals, asking the Lord to bring the right guy for me in the coming years. I was about to graduate from high school then, so my future was heavy on my heart and I knew the next few years were going to be full of important changes. I wrote about some things I hoped he'd have, like a kind heart, a love for the Lord, a sense of humor, a love for sports, a love for my family and of course, a love for me. I asked God to give him wisdom in the choices he was making, to keep him pure, and to protect him. I read that 5 years later and thought it was sweet, because of course I had met him and was about to marry him. I realized that God answered every thing on that list and then gave me a million more things to love and be thankful for too. But then I saw something that I hadn't seen before. I thought back to that April day and I realized, April 2 was just another day for me, but it was a big day for Travis. That was his 24th birthday and he was about to graduate from college. In just a few weeks from that day, he would be looking for a job and someone would lead him to the job waiting for him, in Naples, Florida. That move would change his life forever and just 4 years later, it would change mine too. We would eventually meet in Naples and of course the rest is history. I love that story because it is such a great picture of God's faithfulness to meet and provide the desires of my heart and it shows me how clearly He was working to do that, when I didn't have a clue. He saw the big picture and was ordering both of our steps to complete it. On the birthday of my future husband, God prompted me to pray for Him, knowing that I was oblivious to what that would mean, but realizing that one day it would give me such great hope. I think about that story often when I wonder where God is. When it feels like He's not answering my prayers or moving in my world, I remember that He is, I just might not be able to see it right now.

10 years later, I have to say that meeting and marrying Travis was definitely worth the wait, not only because he is the man of my dreams, but because He is a visible reminder of God's love for me... a very handsome reminder!! Isn't God good??