Love Story Part 3
Yes, I said no.
You read correctly. "Why" you ask?
Well, even though I knew I was head over heels for Kevin, I also knew that for my whole life, God had been calling me to overseas work in some capacity. Because Kevin and I never talked about "us" before he asked me out, we had never really talked about a future with one another, and therefore had never talked about overseas missions as a couple. I didn't know where his heart was in that regard.
That night he asked me out, I didn't flat out shut him down.
I said "let's give it a few weeks to think and pray about it and see where God takes it"
and in a week, we knew we wanted to give it a shot.
I was scared, absolutely, but for all my hesitancies, I felt a HUGE peace about moving forward with dating Kevin.
a peace that was certainly a step of faith,
but I'm ever so glad I trusted God!
So we moved forward. Kevin had traveled a lot, but only for pleasure. We talked a lot about what it would look like to serve together overseas. Our second month of dating I flew to Kenya for a month for work, and at the airport Kevin handed me 26 letters he had written me, one for each day. Every morning in Africa I cried opening these letters because I could feel God encouraging me through Kevin in huge ways. That was the start of seeing Kev's heart for God and heart for missions.
Kevin and I then started doing ministry in a low income immigrant neighborhood, and soon moved into the neighborhood....Kev into the "guys" home and myself into the "girls" home. We starting leading workshops at the Teen Center, our favorite was one on food and culture where we picked a country each week and taught the kids how to make the cultural food from that country. It was so fun to watch Kevin with the kids, how much he embraced them and loved them. If you are dating right now and headed towards marriage, serving together can be the most incredible experience for your relationship!!
Kev then decided to spent a month in Nepal, and a few months later went to Indonesia on a basketball team that was doing ministry. He literally fell so in love with the people in Indonesia that he decided to move back for 6 months to help coach a university basketball team there. I was thrilled at Kev's decision to pursue God's calling. But it also was a time in my life that I had to trust God for our future.
Even though both Kevin's and my parents have been married 30+ years, I still felt hesitant about marriage. Spending the rest of your life with ONE PERSON can be a crazy thought to wrap your head around. I didn't know why I was scared...I loved Kevin and he adored me, so why the hesitancy?
When Kevin moved to Indonesia, we decided not to talk for a few weeks to gain some clarity. Kevin didn't need that time as he KNEW he wanted to marry me, but I did. And you know what, in those few weeks I felt perfect peace about marrying this man. And for the first time, felt a calling to marriage. I know that seems crazy, but I believe it was God's sweet blessing on it.
So when Kev came home from Indonesia at Christmas...he utterly surprised me and proposed (in the most epic of ways!!!) You can read about the proposal here.
And so you see this story, while so different than what I expected, was woven into the most beautiful love story. I met the man of my dreams while sleeping in his parents upstairs room, and on August 13th 2011 we tied the knot and started the best part of the journey yet...marriage! I look back and I just praise God for his handiwork. I could have NEVER imagined such a handsome, talented, God loving man in my life. He is the most servant hearted man I know, and loves me deeper than I deserve.
I look back and I remember discouraging seasons wondering if i'd EVER meet anyone that I was truly crazy about, and that loved God and loved me with such a passion. And I did. So know that God is working, because I see the miracle of it every day in my life!!
Hope you are encouraged today that our God sees us, and he knows us. He is so in tune with our deepest desires and dreams- in fact he gave them to us. So be incredibly uplifted today that you have the very best of advocates working in your favor, for your good:)
With Hope,
Katie