In FIREFLY ISLAND by Lisa Wingate, love at first sight brings a city girl to a remote ranch as a modern day mail order bride. Is there an “out of the box” love story in your family?

My Story:

Ever notice patterns in your life? I have this one that started in my life at a young age. Really young.

Nothing I try to “get” for myself by way of ambition or ability, by smarts or even slight manipulation ever works for me. If it does, I find myself stressed or in the wrong place at the wrong time. 

Not that I’m a pushover. Ask me what I want and I’ll tell you. Ask me my opinion, I’ll be more than happy to share. 

But a plan or scheme to get a certain job, position, friend or boyfriend, zip, zero, nada. 

All good things come to me when I say, “God, I’ve got nothing. You do it. Put me where You want me.”

Looking back, I can see the pattern in my life. But in the midst of it, I wondered if anything would ever be right, or go my way.

My first job out of college came after, “God, I can’t find a job. Put me where you want me!” Got a call that night from an old junior college classmate. I was hired a moved and month later.

With hubby at the Gator Bowl 2012

Couldn’t find a church. Couldn’t get my heart really serious about God. I said, “Lord, what will it take to get me serious about You?” I wanted to be serious. I wanted my life to be His. I knew He loved me.

Bam! A series of events transpired that had me leaning against Him holding on for dear life. The circumstances have changed, but I’m still leaning and clinging. 

Same thing when it came to love. How was I going to pick the right guy? Maybe it’s just me, but have you ever noticed the guy you liked never liked you back? Did you end up with his friend? Yeah, me too.

I said, “Lord, I don’t know who to marry, what to look for, what I need or don’t need in a relationship, You pick.”

Within a few months, I found a church and the man who would be my husband. After all the surrendering and trusting, one would think my journey of love would’ve been smooth, easy, like balloons flying overhead on a brilliant blue day.

No way. Hubby and I hit it off but about three months into the relationship, he said, “I feel like God is saying we’re just to be friends.”

Meanwhile, literally, God is telling me, “You’re going to marry him.”

Oh, I didn’t want to be the weird girl who thought she was going to marry the single pastor at church. (I was one of five, btw.)

But hubby and I were best friends. We loved hanging out. We challenged each other in our walk with the Lord. We became best friends.

One time he went on a date with another girl. His car broke down so he borrowed my car! “Lord, he’s on a date with someone else in my car! What are You doing to me?”

Ever feel like God was smiling. Even laughing.

Hubby came back from that date saying, “I think you spoiled me for all other women. I couldn’t get her to talk or anything.”

What a conundrum we were in. See, we loved each other as friends. I loved him romantically but he claimed to have no romantic feelings for me at all. He did when we first met. Then when God spoke to his heart we were to be friends, the feelings left.

After three years of being just friends, God opened up Hubby’s heart in a day. In an instant. Things had progressed. By now we both knew we were going to get married. Hubby was all in. Except, he still didn’t have romantic feelings. Such an odd place to be. By faith, he believed God would give him the feelings. 

NOTE: Do not try this at home. Not recommended. 😉 

One Sunday afternoon I returned home from vacation and stopped by the church picnic on my way home. Hubby was cleaning up, hauling out trash so I called to him from the parking lot, waving.

He turned to greet me and woosh, his heart unlocked and suddenly, so very, very suddenly, he was completely in love. 

Whoa! This was a whole new man to me. We couldn’t sit next to each other on the couch anymore! 

What I love about our journey? It proved to us how intimately acquainted God is with our heart and mind. How much He wants to be involved in our lives.

Our story was very much out of the box! To a youth church of girls watching our relationship, our weird journey looked cool and amazing. They wanted to pattern me. I said, “No, don’t. It’s hard!”

Equally valid is God partnering with us as we go through life, choosing who we want to love, in the normal, everyday way. 

But I know my life and love has a pattern. When I get wrapped up about something — finances, my career, a relationship or whatever, I remember all the good the Lord has orchestrated in my life. I pray. I trust! 

What about you? Do you have patterns in your life that give you a sense of peace and normalcy?

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