There I was one Sunday morning minding my own business when God decided to step in and make obvious He had a rather unexpected plan...and had all along. That morning I was tired (as I often am), but tired enough to pray again about it.
"Father God, I'm so tired. I can't keep doing this all by myself. I know I'm supposed to trust you solely, but unless you plan to come down here and mow my lawn and wash my dishes, you have got to send me someone."
And there was an "Amen" at some point. This was not a totally unusual prayer for me. I'd prayed similar ones before. But this time the words I said would stick with me...probably for the rest of my rational life.
Later that morning, after the early service for which I am music coordinator, I got into a conversation with the man who runs the screens for the that service. He asked me about what it was like being a single foster-parent. We chatted while we were waiting for one of the other worship leaders to arrive for some brief system training. Afterward he asked if I'd like to get some lunch. I found myself agreeing without thinking about it.
So we went to lunch. It was nice. Took longer than I had originally anticipated, but I still had just enough time to get home and get ready before going to choir rehearsal. As we were parting ways in the parking lot it occurred to me I had just accidentally gone on a date.
That week was going to be a short one. I was getting ready to leave town to go to Vegas with Mom. There was so much to do. I was feeling very overwhelmed. How was I going to get everything done I needed to before I had to leave? And now there's this man from church asking for my attention, wanting to go out to dinner, see me, spend time with me...and that Tuesday night he mowed my lawn while I did the trimming and tended to the garden. And Samson made a new best friend.
The following night I did cave and we had dinner followed by me in the roll of technical support trying to help fix and update his laptop. Not my usual gig and it almost completely halted any forward progress in getting ready to leave town.
That Thursday I left work early, went to physical therapy, and then came home feeling quite frantic about all that remained to be done. And I had company again. This time he was washing my dishes while I packed.
Did you catch that? Prayer on Sunday. Asked out on Sunday. Then he mowed my yard. Then he washed my dishes. Mind...blown.
Coincidences and random things in common started to pile up. I go into some sort of shock. What in the heck?! Okay, God. I appreciate the lack of subtlety. In fact, I had asked for that at some point along the way, too. I said (and I quote), "Make it obvious." So, apparently, He did.
Five weeks passed. It was Sunday. I was sick. I felt miserable, was coughing and stuffy. He had made me dinner and there were two roses in a vase on the table. How sweet! And here I was feeling yucky. I managed to eat some and then put on my pjs, put Vics under my nose and curled up on the sofa to just watch some TV for a while before I would send him home and go to bed. Or...
...I could get engaged instead. Came to learn he had been planning to propose and then almost didn't since I was sick, but in his words, he "just couldn't wait." So he proposed anyway despite my pjs, germs, and Vics nose. In sickness and and health, right?
I know what you're thinking. Certifiable? Quite possibly. But it gets better.
So, now we are planning a wedding. The date will be January 1st...2017. New year, new life, new beginning...and it's a Sunday. Keeping it very small with just the immediate family and the one friend each standing up with us, so no one but them has to figure out how to be comfortable in long underwear underneath dress clothes...since we'll be outside for the ceremony. (Should help Pastor keep things brief unless the outdoor heaters are just too darn good.)
We're now just about seven weeks out from the wedding and God has had His hands in the planning, too, as everything from the dress to the rings has gone very quickly and smoothly. We both see the signs all around us of His handiwork, His planning, His purpose. Not in a million years would I have expected to be writing this blog post. If you'd asked me five years ago when I moved to Lincoln where I would be by 2017, I'd have not guessed getting married and preparing to bring not just a husband, but also a teenage step-daughter and step-chihuahua puppy into my home. Heck, you could have asked me that just a couple months ago and I'd not have guessed anything near this!
But the Lord does work in mysterious ways, and there's just no denying He's been at work in both our lives to prepare us for, well, each other, and all that we bring with us. I've spent a considerable amount of time trying to wrap my mind around that one...It's impossible to fathom. I have found it is less impossible to just accept what God has obviously planned and just be in awe of how I am being loved. I'm pretty sure I no longer live in the state of Nebraska, but in a state of perpetual amazement.
All that being said, we're not doing any formal engagement photos, but it would probably be bad form to not introduce you all somehow to my husband-to-be. So, we took some lack-luster selfies (we're too old maybe to be able to take good selfies, or maybe a selfie by definition is a bad picture), so you can at least get an idea of what he looks like. His name is James Schulz, by the way, but you may call him Jim. He looks forward to getting to know all my crazy family and friends...which may just go to show that he's just as silly in the head as the rest of us, and that's okay.
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| Jim & Corrine Sunday, November 6, 2016 |
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