Met-My-Mate Mondays, Part Four

I have enjoyed playing along with LL over at Vitafamiliae. If you want to read her sweet story or play along, click on the button below.



Somehow Chris and I worked through the email snafu.

We continued dating through the completion of my Master’s degree at Virginia Tech and through physical therapy school at ODU. I started the two year PT program at ODU in August of 1997. Norfolk is a three hour drive to northern VA so I was an hour closer to Chris than when I lived in Blacksburg. Through almost three years of a long distance relationship, we saw each other at least every other weekend and sometimes every weekend. I know we talked every night on the phone when I lived in Norfolk. This was back when long distance calling wasn’t cheap.

Chris met my parents at Easter in 1997 and I met his parents at Thanksgiving that year. He proposed over Christmas break in 1998. I told my closest friend at school but we didn’t tell anyone else. He wanted to tell our parents in person. The first weekend of my spring break in 1999, we drove to Blacksburg to meet my parents at a restaurant. He slipped the ring on my finger under the table and we then told them we were getting married.

We were planning to go to SC to tell his parents the following weekend, but first his car was stolen and then my grandmother passed away (or vise versa, they were both within 24 hours of each other). I was so thankful that we had just gone to lunch with her and told her that we were getting married. She adored Chris. We went to Hillsville for the funeral and postponed our trip to SC another week.

I was so nervous right before we told his parents. His mom later said that she knew why we were coming. She thought if it wasn’t to announce our engagement, then we would have completely canceled the trip. After all, she had heard similar announcements from her two older sons.

We were married in August of 1999.

A pastor I knew when I was an undergraduate would always remind me and the other girls, “For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11) Wow! He does have such a wonderful plan for marriage. It can be a lot of work but it is wonderful. I am so grateful that God gave me such an awesome husband.