With the 4th of July quickly approaching, I'm reminded of this period of time 10 years ago...and how very different my life was.
During our first break up. We were still good friends
As I've written about before, Josh and I broke up twice when we were dating. Both of those break ups happened very early on in our relationship. The first one made a lot of sense to me, because we had only been together about a week and didn't know each other super well yet. The second one was a lot harder. We had been together solidly for a month and I was already starting to feel like he was the guy I was going to marry...which is part of the reason he broke up with me...he was a little freaked out by that. And it really is understandable. It was very early on and we didn't know each other super well. But sometimes you just know...
But this moment in time ten years ago, I was really hurting. Josh and I were still friends, but he was dating other people and I was talking to someone who I was sort of interested in. But it was hard for me to see what the future was going to hold. I was still attending my old church and helping out with the youth group there. I was planning to go away to school in six months to pursue a degree in Biblical studies with an emphasis on youth ministry. I thought I had everything planned out, but I still liked this boy who stole my heart. And I couldn't get him out of my head, no matter how hard I tried.
During our second time together
It's crazy to think of how hard that summer was for me, even though so much of it was filled with fun times with friends. And it's crazy to see how much things changed in a matter of months. By the end of September, that boy had a change of heart (with some nudges from God and other people in his life), and decided to give us another shot. We both knew this time would be different and it was. Shortly after that, I started attending his church (where we still go now) and I even got a job there working in their youth ministry. I didn't go away to school like I'd planned, but I know now that was for the best. I think if I would have gone, Josh and I probably would have broken up at some point, because neither one of us really wanted to do long distance.
Josh's 21st birthday. A few months after we got back together the last time
And not only would Josh and I probably not be married right now, I wouldn't have more than half of the people I have in my life now. It's crazy to think how meeting one person becomes a catalyst for a lot of other new friends and experiences. Or how a decision to apply for a job can change the whole course of your life, as it did mine.
1st: January 2006 / 2nd: June 2015
So today I'm just thankful for these past ten years and all they've brought. God's plans are always better than mine, and I'm so thankful my life path was different than the one I would have chosen for myself.
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