What Starts at Waffle House...
It’s hard to believe that my husband and I began dating this time 10 years ago. I know it’s cliche, but where has the time gone? We were just teenagers in college, hanging out at Waffle House after a Fall event. Now here we are, ten years later and honestly living the life I had always dreamed of having one day: married with a baby and three pets in a house that we love, as well as teaching my favorite grade level while my husband works in worship at our church. Are things perfect? Absolutely not. This world is a fallen world and nothing is perfect. We make mistakes, get frustrated, annoyed, hurt, angry, irritable, tired, exhausted, emotional (well mainly just me), and so much more. Things don’t go as planned, we say the wrong words, we forget important things, we don’t always listen, we don’t always agree, and we don’t always have days full of rainbows and butterflies. In fact, most days are really hard trying to manage and balance all of the different factors in our lives. Which is why I often lose sight of all that we have been blessed with.
Thankful. That is the only word I can use to describe how I feel when I reflect on our blessed life. Our house may be messy and in need of repairs, but I am thankful that we not only have a house but a house that we love. Our jobs may not always run smoothly, but I am thankful that we not only have jobs but have fulfilling and purposeful jobs. Our relationships with family and friends may have rocky waters or hurt feelings at times, but I am thankful that I not only have a community but have a community of believers that encourage and support us. Our son may be stubborn, lack patience, and throw dramatic tantrums, but I am thankful that we not only have a son but have a strong, healthy, and wild redheaded baby boy. Our marriage may not be perfect and may have many lessons left to learn, but I am thankful that I not only have a husband but a loving, caring, and selfless husband.
Ten years ago, we got “married ‘til midnight” at my sorority’s Hoedown then spontaneously went to Waffle House after the event late that night. The waitress asked if it was one check or two, he answered one, and the rest is history. Little did I know all that God had planned for us from that night forward. We dated all throughout college but I graduated first. It was not easy having to wait on him. I would dream of and pray for the day that we’d have the ideal life, married with kids in a house with a white picket fence. Well, we have a broken metal chainlink fence instead of a picturesque white picket fence, but we sure are married with a beautiful baby boy and that is all that my heart truly desired and still does. God answered my prayers and blessed us with countless blessings, but kept it all in His perfect timing.
I used to long and pine for the day that we would finally get engaged and married, feeling like the wait would never end, but God had the perfect plan to play out. Sure enough, we had the most exhilarating proposal in front of the Cinderella Castle at Disney then the most beautiful, elegant, and special wedding day that will always be cherished and remembered. Then I prayed and prayed to get a job, subbing all throughout the new area that we lived in. I interviewed at several different places, constantly getting my hopes up then let back down. But God had the perfect place in His perfect timing. I was hired just one week before school started, teaching my favorite grade level at genuinely the best school and school system in our area. Another blessing.
We prayed for my husband to find a fulfilling job, as well as for wisdom on when to start law school. The Lord gave us the resources for him to begin law school, then He immediately opened the door for my husband to start a new job at a place he had desired to work at one day. We thought that he he had to choose between school or the job, so we prayed for guidance on which to choose. But God allowed him to do both. It wasn’t easy, starting law school and a new job but God provided the way. Yet another blessing.
Later, we began praying for guidance on buying a house. We searched and prayed and went through the ups and downs of house hunting. Then we fell in love with a place in the neighborhood that we wanted to be in, but as we got closer to the closing date, we almost lost the house. Discouraged, we tried to look at other houses and prayed our way through the disappointment. But that same night, circumstances changed and the house was ours again. Blessed in His perfect timing.
The most recent and most valuable blessing God has given us in our marriage is without a doubt our sweet baby boy, but once again only in His perfect timing. We yearned and prayed for a baby, but months and months went by. I honestly think that longing for a child is one of the most languishing, aching, and agonizing of all of the heart’s longings and desires. My heart breaks for every woman that has struggled or is struggling with fertility. But I know and have experienced that God’s plans and timing are absolutely perfect, whether they align with ours or not. And for us, He allowed me to get pregnant at the perfect time in our lives. School had just gotten out for the summer and I had two full months before the next school year began. That ended up being the best blessing because I suffered greatly in my first trimester, so much so that I was hospitalized twice with dehydration. I was so sick that I became depressed (a story for another time). But just as school started back up, I gained strength and slowly started becoming my happy healthy self again. If I had gotten pregnant when we first began trying, there’s no telling how much work I would have had to have missed. God knew when the right time was to bless us with our baby.
All of that to say that God has profoundly blessed us in our ten years of togetherness. There have been high highs and low lows along the way, but the Lord has stayed faithful to His promises. He has not only provided for us but has given us more than we deserve. Just the fact that the Lord has blessed me with the most hard working, compassionate, kindhearted, patient, and caring husband, proves that our God is not only faithful but full of abounding love for His children. Now that I am a parent, I am able to understand more fully the love of God. The Lord truly delights in us as we delight in our own children, and He wants to bless us in the same way. As Matthew 7:11 states, “If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”
There is a blessing that my dad used to pray over his congregation before the end of every service when I was growing up. I heard it so many times that I will probably be able to quote it verbatim for the rest of my life. It didn’t hold much weight to me as a kid, but I have found myself reciting it more and more now that I’m older. I pray it over every aspect of our life, but mainly over our marriage and the family we’re creating.
“May the Lord bless you and keep you; may He make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; may the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”
-Numbers 6:24-26
My dad always ended it with, “When you’re rising up and you’re laying down, when you’re going out and you’re coming in. Both now and forever more.” Since that Waffle House date ten years ago,, the Lord has truly blessed us, kept us, made His face shine upon us, been gracious to us, and given us peace amidst all the world’s chaos. My prayer is that He will continue to bless us as we walk with Him both now and forever more.
