It has been on my heart to write this blog for months. However, even when I am on top of the world, super excited and bubbling over with happiness, I am still a procrastinator. Sheesh, deliverance is my only hope there....or maybe a little self discipline. I think they probably feel similar haha! Anyway, I digress. My point here is to share with you the excitement, change and newness that has been my life for the past 9 months. So, here goes.
The skinny...I am in love, head over heels, crazy, madly, for forever in love. It is wonderful. I am truly bubbling up with happiness in my heart, knowing that I have found true love, someone to spend the rest of my life with, to grow old with, to enjoy and endure life with...the good and the bad, including our children's teenage years. And let's be real, even without having a teenager yet, I know that has the potential to be it's own little special plane of hell.
If you are on Facebook, you have seen the photos, but in case you are not and this is like brand new news to you, I am in love with David Dickerson. Every time I say it, or write it or think it, it makes me giggle a little on the inside. Why? Because I have known this man since he was a teenager, a sweet faced, poofy haired 13 year old in my junior high health and p.e. class. Guys, he even asked me out when we were 14. I sweetly declined, telling him that I already had a boyfriend. I tell him all the time that it just took me 26 years to come around and finally realize that he is the one for me. Of course, there is also the possibility that we are only right for each other now that we have experienced those 26 years of life. Either way, I am so grateful to God for a second chance and for the wisdom to say yes this time.
Maybe people wonder why I waited so long to say anything, or maybe you don't care...but I am going to tell you anyway. The truth is, as much as I like to chat and share and hear all about the deep things in everyone else's hearts, I am actually a fairly private person. Somehow, the idea of just casually tossing out the phrase "I am in love", in the middle of just any conversation didn't work for me. There is such an enormity to this that I have had a hard time making light of it, or knowing how to just tell people in a casual way. I, also,am not too fond of being in the spotlight, unless I have a guitar to hide behind, so bringing attention to myself is not really something I do very easily. Truthfully, letter writing has always been a comfortable medium for me and I felt I could tell lots of folks at once this way. So, little by little I have shared pictures and comments to try to break the ice a bit, and now I am writing a blog. However, behind the scenes, in the midst of our families, Dave and I have been nurturing and growing a very sweet and solid relationship since May.
The way this all began includes our friendship as teens, Dave's comings and goings in my house as we grew up,though mostly as Anna's friend, and his dearness to my mother's heart (she has always loved him). This gave us a history, shared stories of growing up in Mechanicsville, and shared friends. It gave us a familiarity that allowed us to chat with a freedom that does not happen when two strangers meet. It gave Dave the comfort level he needed to tell me to stop talking about running and put my shoes on and do it. That really was the catalyst...a silly little Facebook thread where we talked about his biking and my running. From that little thread in mid- April, a friendship was reignited and it began to gain depth. Within a couple of weeks, we were sharing about our adult lives, our children, our families, our failed marriages, our struggles with alcohol and our freedom from it...really, we talked about everything.
In mid May I shared with Dave about a young woman , whom I love very much, that was struggling with addiction. He offered to help her find things she was passionate about and started by inviting us all to go for a hike. She loved the idea, so we packed up, and went to Reva, VA where Dave lives on a fantastic little hill. He took us, Mia included, on a hike to a beautiful mountain top view and then down to a gorgeous waterfall. We were all hooked...instantly. We three girls talked about how wonderful the day was, how beautiful the hike was and how easy going and nice Dave was...ALL the way home. We loved it so much, that 5 days later on May 25, 2013, this young woman and I went back to do another hike. This day...well this day was special. Dave and I talked about many things on that hike, including the deep things of God and His creation. We talked about the beauty of nature, he pointed it out, and I photographed it. One of the highlights of that hike was tasting fiddle heads, thinking that they were edible from something I had read, only to find out they were disgusting and this was NOT the way to eat them. That day, a love for nature, that had lost its fervor over the years, was reawakened in me. That evening we stuck around, had dinner, and talked about memories of being kids. Dave and I had a blast looking at pictures and just enjoyed each other's company. I think that day, we both knew that there was something very special about the friendship that was growing between us.
Maybe I should stop here and continue in a part 2, so that you do not grow weary of reading my story. But first, I want to say this...what I found out in that first month of talking with Dave again, was that we shared a love for deep conversations, a desire to get to know someone well, to know how they tick, what makes their hearts come alive. We realized that we enjoyed , what we affectionately call, swimming in the deep end. We found in each other someone else who desired to know and to be known. In Dave, I have found one who is deep, deep waters. There is a depth and a beauty to this man's heart that makes me want to know him more, to spend my life loving him, enjoying him, being his best friend and getting to know him more every single day. I am so thankful to Jesus for this precious gift of love and I cannot wait to tell you more of our story soon.
