When We Clicked

Last night marked the five year anniversary of when Jonathan and I hung out for the very first time. As I think back to that night, I remember it as the beginning of an epic story...not much unlike when Bilbo Baggins gave Frodo the ring, when Lucy walked through the wardrobe, or when Luke befriended R2D2 and C3PO. It's the first chapter in a story that is filled with many adventures. :)

Five years ago yesterday was the last day of finals my sophomore year at Lee University. That semester was one of the tougher ones for me, especially due to the fact that I had sprained my ankle and there was a death in my family...and because of those things I also had a lot of make-up work to do. When my last final was complete I was one big ball of exhaustion/relief/and excitement that Christmas break had begun.

That night  me and my friends were ready to just relax and enjoy our newfound freedom from finals. My friend Kristen started calling the rest of our friends and we began to plan what we were going to do that night. When she called our friend Russell, his roommate picked up his phone and answered it for him...so Kristen invited him to hang out with us as well.

That roommate? That was Jonathan.

*dun, dun, DUN!*

We all met up that night in the lobby of Nora Chambers (a girls dorm at Lee). When Jonathan arrived I said hello (we had met in passing a few days earlier in the Student Union so I knew who he was) and I tried to make him feel welcome since he was new to the group. That night we all went to a coffee shop, hung out a friend's apartment, ate at Steak'n Shake, and then went to the midnight premiere of King Kong at the local cheap theater.

Throughout the night we kept managing to sit next to or across from each other (which I don't think was entirely accidental), so we had many chances to talk. I was immediately attracted to him. His dark hair, those hazel eyes, and his big smile made my heart skip a beat. But what really struck me was his fun personality, his maturity, and his evident love for God and ministry.

At the end of the night we all said our goodbyes and Jonathan and I parted with an awkward hug (I've always been a hugger...he, not so much) and a "Have a great Christmas break!"

When I got home that night, I couldn't stop smiling. Even though it was really late, I was still wide awake...so I logged onto Facebook to try and wind down. And that's when I just so happened to stumble upon Jonathan's profile...so I friend requested him.

The next night I got onto my computer and saw "Friend Request Accepted!" I immediately added Jonathan's AIM screen name to my buddy list, and sure enough...there he was...online. So, what else could I do but IM him? What can I say...I don't like to procrastinate. :)

That instant message conversation was the first of many that took place over that Christmas break. Hardly a day went by that we didn't talk to each other over instant messenger. Our conversations ranged from wisdom teeth removals, movie preferences, our families, God, and our hearts to see people's lives changed through ministry.

One month later (January 14th, 2006) we went on our first date (which you can read about here) and officially started our relationship to seek what God's purpose for us might be in marriage.

Fast forward a year and a half to July 27th, 2007...the night before our wedding day. After our rehearsal dinner, Jonathan and I were sitting in his car amazed at the fact that in less than 24 hours we would be married. We exchanged our wedding gifts that night, and Jonathan gave me this:

This book contains all of our instant message conversations from that fateful Christmas break. I recently read through this book again, and am still so amazed at how God brought our lives together. It's amazing what God can do when we allow Him to write our story.

I love you, Jonathan. I'm so glad you walked into my life that night five years ago (and that you didn't think I was a stalker for friend requesting you on Facebook.) :)

-Tiffany