Back To The Present

So in case you didn't know, I got back from a scouting trip to India a week or so ago. I feel like I should post about that, but I'm gonna save most of that for another day. I had heard that even from a shorter trip there is some reverse culture shock that happens after you get back, but I didn't really know what that would look like for me. Well, seeing your fiancee after three weeks of being on opposite sides of the world was pretty stinkin awesome. Just sayin.. But, I have been struggling to live in light of what I saw and experienced, while life is pretty much the same as a month ago before I left. One of the things that the Lord really put on my heart was being aware of the spiritual warfare that is going on around us all of the time. Just really being aware of the schemes of Satan to distract us and pull us away from focus on Jesus. Another was praying with faith in the power of Jesus name. While we were in India prayer became my lifeline. I could feel the darkness of that place, and besides I felt very small and powerless in a world where I don't speak the language or understand the culture. So, prayer was my connection to a power that has overcome that darkness and is over all cultures and peoples. And the Lord really convicted me while I was there that prayer is something that I so often forget here where I feel like I have things figured out.
So, since I have been back I have been trying to spend more and better time in prayer with the Lord. Especially, as Rachel and I are preparing to make this huge commitment to one another. So pray for us as we are preparing to become the beautiful picture of Christ and the Church that marriage is. And pray that we would continue to rest in the power of our Lord and not in our own strength.

6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Phillipians 4:6-7

14And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. 15And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.

1 John 5:14-15

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With only 100 days till we get married, it might be appropriate to recap the last 415

So, what every person has been dying to hear… our story! How this power couple was formed! (Haha, just joking, we’re not a power couple, just a couple that the Lord brought together for His glory. So I guess we are a power couple that the Holy Spirit empowers daily. I digress...) So here goes, just a (maybe not so) brief (with some details of course and slightly more from my point of view) overview of how we got to be 100 days away from our wedding day. Brace yourself.

First off, I’ll start with a few interesting facts about us to set the scene. Grayson was born in Arkansas in 1986, and I was born in Mississippi in 1989. However, we both moved to Mississippi to suburban cities our junior year in high school. We both share the same middle name (Leigh/Lee) and both are the oldest child. Grayson and I both have siblings that are 2.5 years younger than we are. I’ll be graduating from Mississippi State in April with the same degree Gray received (Communication with an emphasis in PR, and a minor in Religion) and both having been Wesley Foundation interns. Kinda fun facts.

Our story started my freshman year at the Wesley freshman and transfer chili dinner, where Grayson was an intern. Let’s just say I’ve had a crush on him ever since (and jus throwin it out there, I’ve had a lot of crushes in college, but he was definitely the longest running one). We were friends and whatnot, and I thought for a bit maybe he was into me and almost got the courage up to invite him to a date party, but alas! I misread him. Which I was pretty bummed about, but whatev, I was still a sophomore when he graduated so kinda lost track of him after that.

That is until I got back in touch with him the summer after my sophomore year to get his help with my internship. So we grabbed dinner when I came back to school just to catch up b/c he wanted to hear about what cool stuff I got to do that summer. (Aside: At this point, I was reminded about how much I used to crush on him, but had come to terms with the fact that he just wasn’t into me. Crazy how when I get to a point in my life when I’m really not looking for anything how the Lord changes my path.)

Alright, so I will attribute the first time we started talking after he DJ’d for Klub Wesley. After that, it was kinda down hill, we texted a bunch, he came down for a few different events, I stopped through Amory a few times when I was driving between Alabama and Starkville, which led to eventually us talking on the phone. He came down and met my family in December and we started “officially” (whatever that means, sorta means commitment I spose) that day. Also, first kiss. Bleck! Terrible. My fault. Enough said.

After that, I met his family and his super legit and special friend group the next month. No big deal. Mighta been a bit nervous. They’re kind of a big deal. I had the best (and first ever) Valentine’s Day date I could ever imagine and a sweet (by this I mean awesome) birthday trip the next week.

Throughout our dating, road trips pretty much identified our relationship: backpacking, beach, Atlanta visiting and concert, Birmingham, to name a few. And the best one yet was last summer in July when we drove to Baltimore to have fun and visit my aunt and uncle. Such a blast. Really great time together after half the summer apart while I was at camp.

Alrighty, so by the time September rolled around, it was about a year since we had started talking, and we hadn’t said the “L” word. Not that you have to say it a certain point or anything, but by this point, I had really prayed and thought through a lot of my feelings and was dying to tell him how I felt. So yep. I told him I loved him first, and I wasn’t expecting him to say it back, but yeah, he sure did. Little did I know that once he said it, he was fully committed and all it took was a Labor Day trip to his favorite place on earth (Mountain View, AR) to seal the deal.

One month later, I was accidentally finding pics of rings on his phone and freaking out. We got engaged in Natchez, MS by HOT AIR BALLOONS! (My personal fav, very thoughtful.)

THE MOST IMPORTANT PART. I fully believe that the LORD has brought our lives together, because He will be most glorified by our lives being joined. I’m very excited about the way I have grown and matured in my relationship with Christ because of my relationship with Grayson. We both know that the Lord has called both of us to a life of sacrifice, service, and ministry. In response to the call on our lives, we will be moving to India in about a year to LIVE A NEW LIFE and spread the good news of Jesus Christ for at least two years with a team of our brothers and sisters in Christ.

There will be more to come soon on India, but until then, I will leave you with a verse that was really encouraging and challenging to me when I was in a period of uncertainty about my future (it’s all about a daily seeking of the Lord and His kingdom rather than a planning of future events and plans):

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” –Matthew 6:33

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