Today is the third anniversary of the day Scott and I got married. May 20, 2006 was a truly awesome day and our anniversary is a good day to celebrate, but in all honesty we make a conscious effort to celebrate our marriage throughout the year with dates and reminiscing that we don't need to do anything elaborate on this day. I hope we will continue to do that all the years of our marriage, to cherish and celebrate our marriage and friendship!
One of the ways that we remember how blessed we are is thinking of the truly amazing journey that brought us together in the first place. We grew up over 3,000 miles apart and with no logical pathway that would bring us together. If you are not familiar with the events that transpired in bringing us to this point today then read on! If you are familiar you can skip this posting altogether or join us in celebrating how wonderful God is. There will be pictures!
Scott and I met in October 2003, but our lives began to intertwine several years before that...
In 1999 I, Debra, was working for a publishing company in southwest England. A 20 year old administrator with no college degree or particular ambition in life. One day (and yes, it really was that random) I asked my superiors if I could transfer to our office in the US. Such an odd request as I can remember having no desire prior to that day to actually do it, and my company had no history of such transfers! And yet they agreed!
In 2000 I left my parents house as a nervous 21 year old and brought all I could carry on the plane (literally) to set up home in a foreign country for a year by myself. I knew no-one outside the office, and my colleagues were strangers at first. It was one of the toughest times in my life for a few weeks until the homesickness subsided.
I met one friend from outside of work and she lived in the suburbs. Carolyn was a drug counselor in the city and one of the kindest people I'd ever met. We would hangout in the 'burbs on weekends and on Sundays she would go to church while I stayed at her place.
Eventually I went to church with her. I don't remember how many times or any of the people I met. After less than 11 months my visa expired. I left the apartment, sold my furniture to a young couple from Carolyn's church and went back to the UK to start the rest of my life.
In 1999 Scott was in dealing with an addiction to drugs and alcohol. In January 2001 ( right before I headed back home) he went into rehab. After 30 days in rehab he was clean and sober (and has been ever since, praise God!). A huge part of his recovery was an encounter with Jesus. He'd have to tell you the exact story himself, but it's awesome!
He began attending church and bounced around a few before settling on our present church home - yes, the same church Carolyn attended! He started hanging out with Jeremy and Christina, sleeping on there sofa when they'd been hanging out late - yes, the sofa I had bought for my apartment a couple of years before!
In 2003, after a couple of years of restlessness and searching I was given the opportunity to return to the US on a more permanent basis. I had not been able to settle back in to my old life, sensing there was more that I was missing. I sold my house, packed my bags for a third time and headed back across the Atlantic.
Returning to work was great, but my personal life was empty and meaningless. It took me a few months but I eventually found a way back to the church out in the suburbs and made a decision to follow Jesus Christ for my purpose and meaning in life. After all, my judgement hadn't brought me any peace and I could see that Jesus was the way.
In October of that year I needed a ride to get to the weekly bible study and the study leader asked his brother, whom I'd never met, to pick me up. As the car I was waiting for pulled up this tall skinny guy stepped out and grinned at me. I smiled back and got in the car. The driver as it turned out was the exact opposite! Tall yes, but built like a football player, with a goatee, an earring and incredible blue eyes! I was immediately intrigued. Hello Scott!
Definitely not my 'type', Scott was quiet, 3 years younger than me (to my complete surprise) and quite frankly a kid-magnet! I'm serious, kids are drawn to Scott and whether they are trying to knock him down or tell him about the bug in their hand he is great with them. That's attractive!
Scott became my regular ride on Wednesdays and we would chat for a bit at church, but he was very much a free spirit. On several occasions when he was supposed to meet me at the bus for a ride on to church he had slept in and I'd end up walking! There was some serious God-given patience at work in me, because I have a really hard time putting up with tardiness! (Until I had a child and my punctuality was taken from my control!!)
We didn't actually start dating until the April of 2004 (despite what Christina says!) and although Scott is a great guy we'd both agree he wasn't Mr Perfect at first! However God was working and in September of 2004 we both joined a team heading to Africa on a mission for two weeks. It turned out to be the turning point in our relationship. The day we left Scott was barely bothered I was there - I did not have great hopes for how things were going!
While we were there the team worked hard and had a great time. The other ladies joined me in praying for God to let me know if I needed to persevere with Scott. Scott tells me that one evening after dinner he saw me heading to my room and at that moment he knew I was the one.
All I know is that everything changed. He hardly left my side on the journey home and it was not long before he told me "I love you." I knew I loved him for quite some time, of course!
In April 2005 Scott proposed to me, in front of my parents who he had just met! In fact after we picked my parents up from the airport he asked my Dad for my hand in marriage all within an hour! My Dad of course told him to hurry up and get on with it! They'd even brought engagement cards from people back home who suspected!
I had no idea it was coming though because Scott had not had any money to buy a ring. A couple months earlier though he did some work for someone that paid exactly the amount needed to buy the ring I chose - what? Of course I'd looked at rings!! He'd picked one it up while I was out of town.
We got married May 20, 2006 on a beautiful day, in the church we'd both come to call home.
We bought our first home together in December of 2006, and 11 months later Emma joined us. The rest is, well, on the blog here!!
Scott and I are partners, but more than that we are each others best friend. We serve God together, support each other and have fun together. Thankfully he appreciates my honesty and sense of humor. We share a great love of food (not so great for my thighs!!) and a clear understanding of our dependence on and faith in God.
One of the ways that we remember how blessed we are is thinking of the truly amazing journey that brought us together in the first place. We grew up over 3,000 miles apart and with no logical pathway that would bring us together. If you are not familiar with the events that transpired in bringing us to this point today then read on! If you are familiar you can skip this posting altogether or join us in celebrating how wonderful God is. There will be pictures!
Scott and I met in October 2003, but our lives began to intertwine several years before that...
In 1999 I, Debra, was working for a publishing company in southwest England. A 20 year old administrator with no college degree or particular ambition in life. One day (and yes, it really was that random) I asked my superiors if I could transfer to our office in the US. Such an odd request as I can remember having no desire prior to that day to actually do it, and my company had no history of such transfers! And yet they agreed!
In 2000 I left my parents house as a nervous 21 year old and brought all I could carry on the plane (literally) to set up home in a foreign country for a year by myself. I knew no-one outside the office, and my colleagues were strangers at first. It was one of the toughest times in my life for a few weeks until the homesickness subsided.
I met one friend from outside of work and she lived in the suburbs. Carolyn was a drug counselor in the city and one of the kindest people I'd ever met. We would hangout in the 'burbs on weekends and on Sundays she would go to church while I stayed at her place.
Eventually I went to church with her. I don't remember how many times or any of the people I met. After less than 11 months my visa expired. I left the apartment, sold my furniture to a young couple from Carolyn's church and went back to the UK to start the rest of my life.
In 1999 Scott was in dealing with an addiction to drugs and alcohol. In January 2001 ( right before I headed back home) he went into rehab. After 30 days in rehab he was clean and sober (and has been ever since, praise God!). A huge part of his recovery was an encounter with Jesus. He'd have to tell you the exact story himself, but it's awesome!
He began attending church and bounced around a few before settling on our present church home - yes, the same church Carolyn attended! He started hanging out with Jeremy and Christina, sleeping on there sofa when they'd been hanging out late - yes, the sofa I had bought for my apartment a couple of years before!
In 2003, after a couple of years of restlessness and searching I was given the opportunity to return to the US on a more permanent basis. I had not been able to settle back in to my old life, sensing there was more that I was missing. I sold my house, packed my bags for a third time and headed back across the Atlantic.
Returning to work was great, but my personal life was empty and meaningless. It took me a few months but I eventually found a way back to the church out in the suburbs and made a decision to follow Jesus Christ for my purpose and meaning in life. After all, my judgement hadn't brought me any peace and I could see that Jesus was the way.
In October of that year I needed a ride to get to the weekly bible study and the study leader asked his brother, whom I'd never met, to pick me up. As the car I was waiting for pulled up this tall skinny guy stepped out and grinned at me. I smiled back and got in the car. The driver as it turned out was the exact opposite! Tall yes, but built like a football player, with a goatee, an earring and incredible blue eyes! I was immediately intrigued. Hello Scott!
Definitely not my 'type', Scott was quiet, 3 years younger than me (to my complete surprise) and quite frankly a kid-magnet! I'm serious, kids are drawn to Scott and whether they are trying to knock him down or tell him about the bug in their hand he is great with them. That's attractive!
Scott became my regular ride on Wednesdays and we would chat for a bit at church, but he was very much a free spirit. On several occasions when he was supposed to meet me at the bus for a ride on to church he had slept in and I'd end up walking! There was some serious God-given patience at work in me, because I have a really hard time putting up with tardiness! (Until I had a child and my punctuality was taken from my control!!)
We didn't actually start dating until the April of 2004 (despite what Christina says!) and although Scott is a great guy we'd both agree he wasn't Mr Perfect at first! However God was working and in September of 2004 we both joined a team heading to Africa on a mission for two weeks. It turned out to be the turning point in our relationship. The day we left Scott was barely bothered I was there - I did not have great hopes for how things were going!
While we were there the team worked hard and had a great time. The other ladies joined me in praying for God to let me know if I needed to persevere with Scott. Scott tells me that one evening after dinner he saw me heading to my room and at that moment he knew I was the one.
All I know is that everything changed. He hardly left my side on the journey home and it was not long before he told me "I love you." I knew I loved him for quite some time, of course!
In April 2005 Scott proposed to me, in front of my parents who he had just met! In fact after we picked my parents up from the airport he asked my Dad for my hand in marriage all within an hour! My Dad of course told him to hurry up and get on with it! They'd even brought engagement cards from people back home who suspected!
I had no idea it was coming though because Scott had not had any money to buy a ring. A couple months earlier though he did some work for someone that paid exactly the amount needed to buy the ring I chose - what? Of course I'd looked at rings!! He'd picked one it up while I was out of town.
We got married May 20, 2006 on a beautiful day, in the church we'd both come to call home.
We bought our first home together in December of 2006, and 11 months later Emma joined us. The rest is, well, on the blog here!!
Scott and I are partners, but more than that we are each others best friend. We serve God together, support each other and have fun together. Thankfully he appreciates my honesty and sense of humor. We share a great love of food (not so great for my thighs!!) and a clear understanding of our dependence on and faith in God.
1 comment:
I am happy for you guys! I do have to mention though that I see a constant throughout this story, Jeremy and Christina. We must have played an underlining part in the meeting and keeping you two together! haha! Nah I know it was all God!
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