Leaving North Carolina

Im flying over Raleigh North Carolina at the moment, somewhere over my beloved new bride’s Jennifer’s house. It’s a weird feeling leaving your wife not knowing when we’ll be able to be together again. We both love each other dearly and our few weeks together has done nothing but confirm that. What Jennifer and I have decided to do is quite unconventional by the world’s standards or at least by the U.S. standards. Most would consider it prudent to wait a few years so you know…well both Jennifer and I did that the first time around and that didn’t work. Really the sudden courtship and marriage really wasn’t a difficult decision at all. In fact it was one of the easiest ones I had ever made. I’ve found the closer you get to God the easier difficult decisions become. It just becomes crystal clear, a very natural choice. I had more of an issue of deciding where to eat dinner last night than whether or not to marry Jennifer. Not because I didn’t seek God, but rather He was so clear with me. He already foretold me that I’d be married within a year last July 09. So my heart was ready, then as soon as I met her, God spoke to me and told me “she’s the one.” Everything has been confirmation after that. I remember talking to my parents after Jennifer and my second conversation. I told them, I met the one Im going to marry (cyber met). They weren’t shocked and my mother said “How can I be disappointed since that has been what I’ve been praying for.”

But still even before I asked Jennifer to marry me, I did my spiritual due diligence. Each time I asked God if Jennifer was the one, it wasn’t just a yes, it was an emphatic yes. There really has never been any doubt in my mind. In fact it started getting to the point that God would answer the question before I even got the question out. It was like: “God should I marry….YES.” or “God should….YES.” That type of confidence in God is incredibly reassuring. How can I be so sure that I was hearing God’s voice correctly? I’ve been listening to that voice my entire life, but quite intimately the last four years. Each time I’ve listened, going to Saudi, to Bahrain, buying cars, houses, apartments, jobs etc… God has not steered me wrong yet. I think that is where the peace that passes all understanding comes from. Plus I know that whatever path that God has me on will be a path of blessing. So I really don’t get stressed or bothered about anything. Things aren’t perfect in my personal nor professional life right now, am I bothered?…No. I know that Im in the midst of a process…God’s perfect plan. He promised to give me plans with a future and a hope. Im just living life out loud right now through this blog and hopefully it is encouraging you to trust God because of all the wonderful things that He has done and will do in my life. Im extremely blessed right now.

Now back to logistics. When will Jennifer and I be together again? We don’t really know. She talked about flying out in May and maybe I’ll get back in July. So one might ask why didn’t we wait to get married til we are able to live together. Like my Pastor Graeme said, long engagements are like torture. Since we know, what’s the point in waiting? It seems like you would only wait to make absolutely sure. That isn’t the issue with either of us. On the practical side, being married gives me a sense of comfort and stability. Something permanent to look forward to. It also helps that I got put on Jennifer’s health insurance plan. That’s certainly a perk. Its amazing that as a diabetic, I’ve been able to go five years without health insurance. That is another testimony of God. I was able to stock up on insulin, get my eyes checked, teeth checked, get poked and prodded and come out the better for it. Plus I don’t believe in Sex outside of marriage, so there was ample incentive to get married in that respect too. I wanted God to completely honor my relationship with Jennifer and I wanted to honor Jennifer as well. I’ve been living in a desert for an awfully long time. Even the camels were starting to look good. So Im glad I didn’t have to wait that long. It sucks going from married sex to abstinence. At least when I was a virgin, I didn’t know what I was missing.

Most people notice about me that Im usually smiling. That can be quite annoying to grumpy people. But now, im not only smiling, Im walking on air. With my story of happiness to despair to brokenness to redemption and elation, I just can’t imagine NOT being a Christian. Hopefully I’ve made a compelling argument for Christ with all of your readers as well. Im not perfect, just blessed. Life is just pretty darn good again.