Brian

Love is a wonderful thing...

Today, in America, is Brian and I's one year anniversary. We have been "officially" dating for 365 days!! Being away from him for our special day is really, really hard. Needless to say, my face is quite puffy from all the crying I've done.

How did we celebrate it? Well, I woke up at 9:00am to video chat with him on Gmail. And guess where he was!! Sitting outside Rao's, next to the little fountain, at the very same table where he asked me to be his girlfriend so long ago. Of course, that's when the water works came pouring out! He even wore the same shirt he was wearing that night. Gosh, I can still remember his face, those eyes looking adoringly at me... I've never seen such love in anyone's eyes before. I remember him saying, "I know you're probably wondering why I've brought you here," (we'd never been on a date before that day) "But I wanted to talk to you..." He continued by stating what the Lord had been showing him that summer; his existence had to be completely in God's hands before he could ever think to succeed at anything in life. He told me how special I was to him, and how he felt the Lord telling him that we were to be together.

I, of course, could feel my heart racing within me, for I loved him so much. I was just so scared! Not because of him, but of the future. Did I really trust God to take care of us? Did I truly believe that God had plans to prosper us and give us a hope and future? I knew what he was asking wasn't just a "hey, I like you, let's date". We had different backgrounds with relationships, but both came to the same conclusion: dating for the sake of dating is the worst idea EVER. His asking me to be his girlfriend, in effect, was the pre-engagement step.

I posed some serious questions to him, questions only he and I will ever know. And then I asked him, "Brian Mulvahill, do you promise to lead me into something extraordinary?" He beamed and replied, "Yes." Then I repeated over and over, "Yes! Then yes!"

The Lord has been so good to us. I remember having been hesitant to believe that God had something so great for me...I always had it in the back of my mind that He was out to get me somehow. That I had been such a bad sinner that He was going to torture me by making me think He was good. What a lie from the enemy! God is ALWAYS good. Always. Through Brian, He has made my life so, so full. Brian is my laughter, my blanket. He pushes my buttons, makes me stronger, makes me weaker, makes me happy. His walk with God is so fantastic. I want to be more like Christ because I see how much the Lord has done in Brian's life; Brian is a servant like no other. He is strong, but so gentle. He has never, ever put me down either in private, or in public. He is always lifting me up, even when I don't deserve it. Especially when I don't deserve it. He speaks of me like I'm an angel. He makes me feel like a princess! Our love is something so much deeper than words or appearances. So much deeper than what we have or don't have. Because our love is grounded in Christ. It truly, truly makes all the difference.

The ideas surrounding relationships in this world are so sad. There are so many misconceptions about a relationship revolving around Jesus. They think there is no freedom or fun. How wrong they are! Sadly, it's the relationships outside of Christ that I see have the most bondage. "Well, if he only treated me better," "She never respects me like I deserve," "Why should I be the one to change?" "He didn't really mean it, he always jokes like that," "All men are pigs," "All women are impossible," "I just keep finding the wrong person!"

An endless cycle of attempting to fill a void only remedied by Him. Before, I could never love because I did not know Love. It's true for any relationship. Know Christ, and you will love like you never thought possible.

So, to the man that first showed me true love (Love), I say: may God bless you, beloved. May you build His kingdom with that precious heart He bestowed to you. May your light shine before men that they see your good deeds and glorify your Father who is in heaven. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for always making me feel beautiful, even when I'm not being lovely. Thank you for always, always listening to me and wanting to talk. Thank you for treating others like you wish to be treated. You are such an inspiration to me. You are such an amazing leader! Your gentleness with me makes me look forward to serving you for the rest of my life (God, let it be!). I love you so much, and I wish so badly you were here with me. Almost one month down! Just eleven more to go... God give us strength.