On the first day of highschool, my freshman year 1996, I met a boy who bears almost no resemblance to the man I know today. On March 25th 2000, I went on a date with that boy and although he wasn't my type, I was interested. I mentioned in my last blog that he was working his magic on that date...a sweet talking gentleman who helped me gliterize my Dorothy shoes, and I liked it;) That spring, he spent quite a bit of time helping me memorize my lines...more points. Things started getting serious and after a few months, he was my boyfriend:) He came to church with me and my family every Sunday and he gave his life to Christ and was baptized that July. Now...all you know about James is what I've told you since I met him in high school. I'm not going to delve into his pre high school history, but know that our God can transform, renew, and make any story into His love story. And my husband's is one of my favorites;) So anyway...I went off to bible college that fall and it was hard for both of us. We had so much fun that summer and dreaded being a state away from each other. You know young love...it's soooo dramatic. I know he was worried I would find some young preacher boy and fall for him and I was worried about a girl in his study group at IUPUI;) That fall, he worked very hard at school, and he also worked nights at FedEx. He saved up his money to go on a mission trip to Haiti with me over Christmas break... I had already fallen for him, but this kinda sealed the deal;) I would go home as much as I could on the weekends and we spent ALOT of time on the phone and e-mailing each other. We dated for almost 3 years and we did have a few rough patches but that's to be expected...we were James and ChurchGirl after all;) We got married in 2003, we were still in school and he was still working nights at FedEx...that was SUPER fun. Actually it was...we didn't know any different and we were just happy to be hubs and wifey. We didn't have an elaborately planned storybook wedding, "real" jobs, or a starter home. We were just in love. The kind of love where you only have a 2 month engagement because you're too excited to wait. The kind that doesn't care where you buy your wedding dress, how you decorate the sanctuary, where you have the reception, or if you go on a honeymoon. The kind that lives in an apartment for years with no internet, no cable, and a kitten for entertainment. We were twenty and twenty-one and literally CrAzY in love. We used to eat a lot of spaghetti and frozen pizza. And those used to be the best meals ever. I loved telling people our story...I would get all JT's ID's out of his wallet. I would lay them out in order of the date they were taken. The 1st one was his college ID, he had angry eyes and a tough guy look on his face. And I would say "This is the old JT." The next one was his Sam's Club ID, he had a cute little smirky smile on his face and I would say "This is JT after he met Samantha." The next one was his driver's license where he was cheesin it up and his face spelled joy, and I would say "This is JT after he met Samantha and Jesus." I just loved doing that, people probably thought I was a weirdo...which wouldn't be entirely inaccurate;)
If you keep up with "Sam and JT Plus Three", then you know the rest of the story from here. It amazes me how God took two seemingly incompatible kids and created something beautiful. And where He took us from there is even more beautiful. Who would have ever thought the mean kid would grow up to be a teacher, mentor, coach and have a HUGE impact on his kids. Who would have thought he would grow up and instead of insisting on having his "own" kids (as people often put it), he would open his heart to adoption and let God define his family. No one was there to teach him how to be a father, but he is an AMAZING father to his children. And really...who would have thought he would grow up and marry that annoying "church girl" in french class?;) God thought it...He had it all planned out since day one. My pride in him is endless and although he's only 12 years old in Christ, he leads this family with incredible faith and love. We just celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary and given our ages on our wedding day, I'm thinking we can make it to 50;) So thankful.....
A more in love than ever,
Crazy Mama Crook
Here you will find the chronicles of the crazy crook crew...enjoy!
I want to live in each season fully, celebrate the chapters as they end, and anticipate the next with only joy! God gets all the glory for the story He's written for our family! A family designed and defined by Him through foster care and adoption. If you've got some time, stay a while...and grab a kleenex;) Each chapter is beautiful and heart wrenching and breathtaking and God is ALWAYS good!
Wonderful story, Sam. Glad to hear that God stayed in control despite the hard times in your relationship. I understand. I met my hubby when I was a senior in high school AFTER I had already made plans to go to CBC that fall. I met him in May and July 4 before the fireworks he asked what was going to happen that next month when I left for college. I thought about it and decided that I didn't want to lose what was sitting beside me for no reason that I could think of except distance. So that night we decided to make it work. Gosh, YES it was rough. Same reasons that you named. He said that he has played the dating game (he is 2 years older) and that I was just beginning my life. He worried that I would meet someone and boy it would have been easy at the rate girls and engagements were going (you know what I mean). We fought a lot simply because it was hard to communicate on the phone ALLLL of the time without seeing one another's faces. I saw him maybe once a month. Now he has taken leadership in a new church campus that we are attending. I think we made the right choice (you and I). God is good. Thanks for sharing
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