A Love Story

This last weekend I was on a work trip in Florida and I had the privilege of getting to take my husband with me. The last day of the trip Jack and I were finishing up our breakfast in our hotel restaurant when we were approached by an elderly couple.  Turns out our waitress told them we were newlyweds so they thought they should come talk to us, and compared to them, we are.  Bill and June have been married for 69 years so they had many pieces of advice to pass along.  Our waitress later told us that she could tell we were so in love that she assumed we were newlyweds.  That is actually the biggest compliment we have received, as we have been married for 2 years. I know 2 years is not that long of time, but it is so flattering to know others can still see our love.  

We spent the next 45 minutes talking with Bill and June.  They met when they were 15 years old.  Bill admitted to being the “original” stalker.  He said he had to beat up quite a lot of other boys to scare them away from June.  He followed her around for years until she agreed to go out with him.  Their senior year of high school she finally agreed.  They began a relationship until it was delayed for 5 years while he joined the military.  For 5 years she dated other men while keeping in touch with Bill.  She said she was trying to fill the void of him being gone.  He said he was letting her run her course until he came back for her.  As soon as he got back they were married and 69 years later he still looks at her with butterflies in his stomach and hearts in his eyes.  

Lately I have been dealing with many people surrounding me approaching divorce.  Meeting them was such a gift from the Lord to lift me up and remind me that sometimes happily ever after does end like we hope for.  Since we met Bill and June we have felt like newlyweds all over again.  His kisses have given me butterflies and his looks have made me feel beautiful like when we first met.  I can’t wait to grow old with Jack and someday share our story and hopefully inspire someone along the way.  

Passing Along My Lessons

I realized tonight I have made a huge step in my journey.  As I mentioned before I have been living with quite a lot of secrets that I hold dear and keep from a lot of people in my life.  I guess I just never wanted people to think less of me and lose respect for me because of some of the decisions I have made in my past.  Today I made progress.

My work is dealing with a lot of teenage girls.  I love these girls desperately and spend many hours worrying about whether or not they are making smart decisions on the weekends and doing things that would please the Lord.  I have been blessed with a ministry to them. Today they began asking me about my past.  I am talking darkest secrets, regrets, past relationships, love, and most of all SEX.  

If you have ever talked to teenage girls about sex you know it can be very nerve racking.  I have always feared this day.  I knew someday they would ask me if I had sex before marriage.  I always hoped that I would answer honestly knowing I could really help impact their lives for the better, but I never knew if I would have the guts to tell the truth.  A year ago...I would have lied.  Today....I told it all.  These girls want details, and by that I mean they want to feel as though it is happening to them.  If you don’t offer up enough information then they will keep prying until they get the whole story.  I told them the entire story about the relationship that caused me to give up my virginity leading into the action and ending in severe regret.  I was always nervous about telling this to people, but today I learned that I really can help these girls learn from my mistakes instead of making their own.  Their exact response was, “It is so good to hear it from an older persons perspective and know there are consequences for our actions now.”  It could have not gone anymore like I would have wanted.  They really did get the message.  I wasn’t lecturing but just honestly sharing my story.  They say their friends don’t regret having sex but that it’s just all fine and dandy, but my story is different.  It caused lots of heartache and drama and that helped them to see that sex just changes things. 

 I am thankful for the way my story plays out.  I met my husband 4 months after I had sex for the first time.  I didn’t have time after having sex to sleep around before I met him and I am so thankful for that.  I know that if he hadn’t have come along so quickly after that my story might be different and that is something I hope they took away from hearing it.  I hope today maybe I influenced at least one girl to hang out to her precious jewels for just a little bit longer.  

(Courtesy of Google Images)