A Love Story: The Meeting (Her Side)

June 16, 2008

Her Side:

James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

James 1:17 (above) happens to be a common, and well-known scriptural reference amongst Christians. This verse has been mentioned in countless number of circumstances, and becomes so redundant, that it tends to lose its very meaning. Despite this, there is something completely life altering when the words of the verse are no longer mere "words", but rather a present state of reality in which a person has the unworthy delight of testifying to.

I awoke with a start, and without an appetite. I thanked God for waking me up, and for granting me precious life, but truthfully my mind was being plagued with the thought of Isaiah arriving. As the hours passed by slowly, I spoke to God, asking and pleading with Him to make the outcome of everything be perfect. Perfect? Yea right. No such thing, or at least that's what I thought. Isaiah did not call that morning, and that help diminish thoughts of him coming. Occasionally, I actually succeeded at convincing myself it was not the day of his arrival. That speck of false relief soon faded away, and I began getting dressed. Never before in my life have I ever felt the need to "look my best". I tried on a series of different outfits, and just when I thought I had the right one, I ended up changing. My final product was a white tank top with pink and blue, my white jeans, pink sandals, and a jacket. I did my hair in what I like to call a "mini Mohawk", in reality it is a bun with a hump at the front of my hair...big whoop :-). I sat patiently awaiting my step-father (he was taking us to the airport).In order to pass time I took pictures of myself with my cell, turned around in a swivel chair, gazed out the window, and prayed like crazy. Exactly at the time Isaiah told me the plane would land, he called. My heart started racing as I heard his voice on the other end. The idea of my boyfriend 7 months, whom I have never met face-to-face, being within minutes of my house, was enough to make my palms and feet sweat. He told me he had been at the airport. My step dad arrived and was waiting for my mother. While waiting for my mom, my grandma enjoyed tantalizing me about the long awaited arrival of my boyfriend. Eventually my nervousness was suppressed and we headed to the airport.

Ft. Lauderdale International Airport is known for being less crowded than MIA( Miami Inter. Airport), but at the moment we reached, this proven bias, seemed to be false. I called Isaiah and told him we arrived and asked him if he was at terminal 4. He said he was, and my eldest sister and I were on a "wild goose chase" for him. While looking for him, my sister would try and scare me by making 'comical' remarks such as "is it that old man over there?". Her jokes both helped lighten the situation, and calm my nerves. After many calls, and lost signal, we finally found out that he was at terminal 3 (which was not where he was to be). Although I was frustrated with him for not being at the correct terminal, my frustration quickly turned to anticipation when i knew where he was. He was determined to see me first, and i was determined to see him first. To his advantage, he was leaning up against a pole, and probably caught a glimpse of the car before I spotted him. When I saw him, I just...yeah. God is so amazing. I did not know anything, it was as if my head went blank. My sister got out the car and hugged him, and when i saw him, right there in front of me, I was speechless. I managed to spit out two words "Hi baby". I gave him a huge hug, and dreaded having to let go. He was, and is, everything that I ever wanted. He was the dream I didn't dare to dream, afraid of it not coming through. Then again , I should've expected it because God said that if we sought Him,He would grant us the desires of our heart. That's just it though, Isaiah is more than the desire of my heart. He came into the car and was quiet. I looked up at him and stared a little too hard :-). My eyes were fixated upon him, and i felt as if everything in the world had suddenly fell in place. Everything! I knew at that moment, that I was in the perfect Will that God had planned for my life. When he looked at me, I melted. I asked him if he really left Zaya, the teddy bear he bought for me. He reached over and gave me the bear, and I had a huuuge KOOLAID smile on my face. :-). I hugged Zaya, and Isaiah looked at me. His eyes became my refuge, my place of comfort. I wanted to make sure he was alright so I constantly asked him "what's wrong?". Time was no longer moving, not in my world at least, and then we arrived at TGIF.

When we came out the car , I made it my priority to bring Zaya with me, and i held him. Being nervous that Isaiah would try holding my hand, I tried walking a little ahead of him, and never let go of Zaya. We were given our own table, behind that of my family. For the first time we were "technically' alone. I had no one to hide behind, I was vulnerable. Surprisingly, conversation came easily, as did smiles, and eventually laughs. At this point my appetite was history! I was filled. Spiritually, and emotionally. That is all that mattered to me. We ordered the same food, although I asked him to eat my share. We also had some pink lemonade, which i forced myself to sip. I knew that if I could make him feel half as blessed to have me, as i did to have him, then all would be fine. After eating, while walking back to the car, I attempted my "hold Zaya in right arm" technique. This time, I was unsuccessful. In an instant, Isaiah took Zaya and transferred him to my left hand and held my hand. HOLDING MY HAND?!!!!?!!!?!!!?!!! Being inexperienced with relationships, and even being intimate (my definition) with a boy scared me. My initial reaction proved that. I looked at my mom and sister and began singing "ebony, ivory, living together in harmony". At that moment, I knew everyone must have been thinking "why in the world did she just do that?", considering that's what I myself was thinking. I felt a need to show my mom that I was holding his hand, instead of her finding out herself. I did not know what her reaction would be, so that was my initial reaction. We arrived in the car and he opened the door for me, we held hands the way home. He showed me many of his papers that he read about early revivalists, and i was just happy to be there. My heart thanked God profusely.

When we arrived hom, he was intrdouced to my grandma, and we went in the room where he would be staying. After a while we changed into more comfortable clothing. I placed on the shirt that he bought for me. We read the Bible, took pictures, and i showed him my baby picture. And the evening and the morning was the first day...LOL J/K J/K. That's what I remember, and will never forget. This truly is a testament of God's faithfulness to His Word. Glory be to Jesus Christ! I love you baby.

A Love Story: The Meeting (His Side)

June 16, 2008

His Side:

My sister drove me to the airport in Columbia, SC. On the way there we stopped at a store called Ross's or something like that. While I was there I got a black shirt and black hat then we headed next door to Barne's and Noble's because I wanted to get a book but while I was there I decided not to but my sister ended up buying a book for my nephew Benjamin. Then we finally got back in the car and went to the airport where I checked in and went through the security drill they always have where they check everyone and then sat down waiting for my plane to arrive. While I was sitting there I saw a blind person with a guide dog. Never seen a real guide dog before.

The plane arrived on time so I went and found a seat. Unfortunately, I must have been sitting next to English teachers because they kept talking about school, books, and other stuff like that. The one next to me asked me if I was reading the Bible for personal reasons or some other and I was like personal. I was seated near the middle of the plane but I was able to see a little out of the window. I can't really say I was all that nervous because I wasn't but I was ready to see her. Anyways. the plane landed at Fort Lauderdale Aiport ande I exited the plane and headed to baggage claim. It seemed like it took forever for my luggage to come.

I called to see where they were and they hadn't even left their house yet which was about fifteen minutes away. There I sat at the airport waiting for her to call to tell me she was here. I decided to call because I missed her. I brought the teddy bear I made for her at Build-a-Bear Workshop in Myrtle Beach, SC when I went to Shabbach with my church. She had named him Zaya which is the nickname she gave me seeing as my name is Isaiah.Anyways, back to the airport where I was waiting for her to arrive and chatting on the phone with her. I tried tricking her into thinking that I forgot him but in the end she figured I had him.

I went outside to look around and stood next to the large pole right outside the door. Not to long afterward she told me they finally got to the airport and then I had to figure out which terminal I was, it was four. I leaned up against the pole on the back side so that I could see her first because from the direction he was coming there was a curve and she would not be able to see me. I was on the phone with her when I saw them pull up which they pulled quite aways up because they had not seen me. Sadly, her sister was the first out to greet me. Erg! I wanted her but, no, I had to give her sister a hug because she gave me one, but then my beautiful love finally stepped out and gave me a hug. They helped me put my stuff then we headed out.

Once we were in the car I really did not know what to say so I got her Zaya. I can only attempt to describe how beautiful she is but words utterly fail me so it will not be even close to being with her in person. It's like trying to descibe what heaven is like with mere words or even more so what an angel looks like. I could not keep from smiling and i could not find anything to say. She kept asking me what was wrong because I was not talking but there was nothing wrong and that is what I had told her. Her mom, stepdad, sister, and us headed to T.G.I.F.'s to eat.

Once we got out of the car we walked toward the store but I fell back so that I could walk next to her. I wanted to hold her hand but I was very nervous. Plus, it didn't help that when I went to she moved Zaya to her left hand so the option of holding her hand went away. Her mom made us sit at a booth seperate from them so they were setting behind us but we could not see them. The waiter came and we both got pink lemonade then we looked at the menu to see what we wanted. We both ended up getting the same things but she got onion rings and I got french fries then we split them.

Afterward, we headed back out to the car. On the way there I ended up holding her hand. Then we got in, oh yeah, we sat beside each other. I'm pretty sure we held hands the rest of the way back but I am not sure either way I was with her...I would say the girl of my dreams, but she is more than that.

When we arrived at her house I got my stuff and she showed me where my room was and then took me to see her room and the others. I do not remember much after that in order of which happened first because all the days began to blend together but she may remember.