Sunday Scribblings: First Meeting

The story of my meeting my husband starts well before we first met. Approximately two years prior someone I had never met spoke prophetically over me and told me that God had a covenant partner for me and together we would be called to the walk of the ministry. I had never dated before and really had no interest in dating for the sake of dating. I knew, however, that the person I would marry would be a good friend first and foremost. I believed that if I sought after God, God would supply this person in His timing and I was content.

One day, months before I would meet the man who became my husband, I had a day of discouragement. My younger sister was out on a date and I was hanging out with family. My mom’s cousin noticed my disposition and she took me aside that night in her front yard and knowingly encouraged me that God had the right person for me and she prayed that He would begin to open the door to that new chapter of my life.

Within a month or two my sister and I made plans to go see Star Wars Episode II one Sunday evening with friends from church. She gave my cell phone number to one of our friends to call us with the show time. That friend gave my number to a friend of his to call and set things up. Little did I know that I was conversing with my future husband, Joseph, over my cell phone that afternoon. We were officially introduced at the theater that evening. He attended my church, but we were not previously acquainted.

The following Sunday afternoon, Joseph called me and asked if my sister and I would like to hang out, maybe go to the movies or something. I declined as we had plans with family to go to By the Bay, a Big Band music event at the beach. He asked if he could come. I was shocked, but said he could come. I was thinking why in the world would he want to go with my family to hear Big Band music? I knew I had a love for old music, but who else my age would even endure such an event? I gave him directions to my house so that he could ride with us.

As the summer progressed we began to become friends through hanging out with church friends and talking via IM and the phone. I felt completely at ease as I had over heard him tell a friend that he was not pursuing any relationships at that time in his life as he wanted to wait on God’s provision. My sister and I spent much of the summer hanging out with him and other friends. Then it came time for my sister to return to college and for me to start classes again at a local college. By this time Joseph and I were good friends. He was easy to talk to and it was just natural. I didn’t have any pressure or expectations of dating. We were simply good friends. It wasn’t until the months that followed that our friendship blossomed and I suddenly realized he was the ONE. I made no indication of this realization, to him or anyone else. I waited until the day he told me he wanted to pursue a relationship with me with the hope of marriage, until I told him the feeling was mutual. I knew that I knew that I knew that he was the one God had for me to marry. We’ve been married just over four years now.

Joseph had been ordained as a pastor well before we met, but was not pastoring. Today he is pastoring and we are pursuing full time ministry, just as was prophetically spoken many years ago.