A couple of years ago I promised to tell our love story one day…well I finally got inspired. The Cliffs notes version was pretty accurate, but without some of the hilarious, romantic details.
When Mr. OverKill and I were 16 we met for the first time. My grandmother, my mother, and I were visiting Mr. OK’s father’s church. My grandmother had recently moved to the area, and we were trying to help her find a good church to attend. I can still see that skinny red headed teenager who, for lack of better words, was sulking in a tan wing back chair. Not the greatest first impression. Need I say, there were no sparks?
When I was 14 I prayed a very specific prayer. I asked the Lord to keep me from truly falling in love until it was the “right one.” The Lord was listening, and even though I had a few crushes, nothing serious ever came of them. By the age of eighteen, I had not been on one date. I think my parents were beginning to get worried….maybe not. Anywho, the summer I turned 18 I went to a single’s conference in North Carolina…all by myself. I was so nervous, and I was all alone. When I arrived at the hosting church, who should be standing on the steps of the church, but Mr. OverKill and another young man from their church. I was so excited to see someone I recognized, I walked right up to them and said Hi(something I typically would have never done) and explained that I had been to their church. Mr. OverKill’s lady-killer response was, “I think if I had met you before, I would have remembered.” Then, he turned around and walked off.
Yeah, he was that slick.
The rest of the conference went really well. I met a ton of nice people, and learned many new things about relationships. I went home, and continued my “higher education.” Mr. OverKill went home and did something….. ;) (What? This story is from my point of view)
A few months later, I started my teacher’s training at Florida International University. I focused on my school, and work. Still, no one special crossed my path. I was seriously beginning to think that my teaching degree was going to be real handy….
The following summer, a group of singles from my church went back to the singles conference. That summer, Mr. OverKill was suddenly very interested in me. However, after his fabulous first impression, I was not really too interested in him. Later I learned that he had been in a long distance “relationship” with someone the previous summer, and since then, they had broken things off.
I went home and started seriously thinking about my life as a single person. I decided I did not want to be a teacher in my hometown, and I decided to move to central Florida. I picked the small town where my Grandmother was living, so I could be close to her. I bought a house that needed quite a bit of work, so I spent many a weekend working on the house with my Mom and Dad, while I finished my internship. We started attending Mr. OverKill’s parents church when we could. Mr. OK was not attending the church, and I really didn’t think anything about it. I had pretty much decided to remain single. I actually told a friend, “I’ve lived in Miami, and didn’t meet anyone, like I’m going to meet someone in this po-dunk town.”
sigh ….. doesn’t God have an interesting sense of humor?
I moved to my new home a few days after graduation, just a couple weeks before Christmas. I spent that time settling into my new place, I went home for Christmas, then went back to my new home and started my job hunt.
That first week back “home,” Mr. OverKill’s parents invited me, and some other young people, over for dinner. I agreed to go, not expecting that evening to be so memorable to me years later. That was the night Mr. OverKill and I connected. You see, the night before the dinner, someone tried to break into my house. I found out that the previous owner of the home had an estranged son, and it would seem he had attempted to “come home.” When I relayed that story over dinner, Mr. OK’s mother insisted that he follow me home and make sure all was safe and sound. I protested, but he insisted. We chatted while I showed him the house, and made sure all was well. After that, we became good friends, especially since he was the only person my age I knew in town. A week or so later, he invited me to go out to dinner with some of his friends. I agreed, since it seemed harmless enough. I found out later, that all the “friends” that were supposed to meet us, suddenly had other plans….hmmm…slick. So, I went ahead and went to dinner with him, insisting that it wasn’t a date. I even had my brother promise to call me at a certain point in the evening, so I could bail if I needed to ;)
A week or so before Valentine’s day, Mr. OK and I were at the mall. Of course all the Valentine’s day stuff was everywhere, and the topic came up. I told him how much it meant to me that my dad always bought me flowers on Valentine’s day, and how I wasn’t expecting any this year, because I was so far away. A few days later, it was Valentine’s day, and it had fallen on a Wednesday. We both went to Wednesday night church, and typically we would hang out together afterwards. Well, as soon as church was over, Mr. Ok said “Well, I’m outta here.” In my typical sarcastic fashion, I replied “What, do you have a hot date or something?” I was caught completely off guard when he said, “Yep.” So, I stayed around and chatted for a while, and then I took myself home, still a little perturbed that Mr. Ok hadn’t told me about his date, I mean we were friends and all. When I pulled into my driveway, I saw there was something odd about my mailbox. I had one of the old fashioned, hung by the door dealies…..and it had flowers in it. Be. Still. My. Heart. How romantic was that???? Then, I realized that I was the hot date…and then I freaked out. I wasn’t really sure I wanted to be in a relationship with this guy….but he was awfully sweet….sigh….After that, he asked me out a lot, and I said no a lot. But, eventually I said yes.
After that, the rest is history. He became my best friend, and then we fell in love (he fell first;). I can’t imagine being with anyone else. God truly honored my prayer, and I have found it an incredible blessing to know that I was able to offer Mr. OverKill my whole heart.