Monday, November 3, 2008

Seven years (a.k.a. I married my stalker)

Today is our seven year anniversary. I have had the privilege of being married to my best friend, the most caring, loving man for seven years. I thank the Lord for him, he is the perfect man for me. For anyone who cares, I thought I would tell our wedding story, that all too funny yet beautiful story which our dear friend Amie Wahl likes to call...I married my stalker.

I was 18, just moved out of my mom's house, working at a coffee shop. I wasn't doing much. I had been a Christian for just over a year, was trying to figure out how to live a Christian life and how to be grown up. I was attending church at the Burn Vineyard, going to lots of Bible studies, and I was feeling very content and happy in life.

One summer day, I went to visit my friend at her work. She worked at a deli, owned by a friend, her brother. As I walked in, I saw a guy standing in line and God spoke to me clearer than day... He told me that guy would be a HUGE part of my life. Well, since I was happy and content in life, I decided to ignore Him. (Does that ever work? :) ) I went on with what I was doing, visiting with my friend on her lunch break. I even went so far as to make fun of the guy. Then he came up to us. I was thinking, "Oh no, oh no." He told us he was new in town and he asked where we went to church. (He had seen my friend with a Bible) After a little conversation, he left. I thought, there that's done.


Oh no. Over the next few weeks, I proceeded to see him EVERYWHERE I went. He would smile, and I would try to smile back, but I was not happy. Finally, he showed up at an event at my church. I was with my "cool" friends and did not want him to interfere. Of course, he walked right up to me and I was forced to introduce him. Looking back, he says, I was new in town, I wanted to get to know people. I had met one person (yes, me) and I thought she would act like a Christian and be kind and welcoming. Instead she was rude and standoffish. (Yes, I was.)


Next, he began going to my Bible study and hanging out with my friends. I was aghast the night he walked into my work with a bunch of my friends. They thought he was neat, and I decided to put a stop to it. I pulled my best friend aside and said, "Please stop hanging out with him. When I first saw him God told me he was going to be a big part of my life. Now I know why, he's going to stalk me and kill me." Yes, I said this. I had decided that since I was happy and didn't want new people in my life, this must be it. This must be why he was everywhere I was. ( No, of course it couldn't be that we lived in a small town and he only knew a few places, and these just happened to be the places that I hung out)


My friend, of course, didn't believe me...I didn't really believe myself. Then one night while I was working, in he walked with his brother. He came straight up to me and asked, "Why are you so standoffish?" I said, "I am not! I am the nicest person in the world, everyone says so." He responded, "You may be nice to everyone else, but you certainly aren't nice to a Christian who is new to town and is trying to get to know people." I knew he was right, but I couldn't admit to it. Instead, I decided I had to prove him wrong. "I am nice. Want to hang out when I get off work?"


That night after work I went to Denny's with him and his brother, still trying to deny what I knew, but God was definitely softening my heart to him. For the next week, we spent time together constantly. After that week, I was working again, when someone I worked with said to me, "There's someone here." I looked out from the back to see who it was and it was him. Right then I knew, and there was no point in denying it anymore. I said to my co-worker, "That's the guy I'm going to marry." As soon as I said it I felt total relief, and realized how in love with him I was.


After work that night, we were talking, and he asked me what God was saying to me. I said, "Um, we're going to get married." He replied, "Yeah, we are."


That was that. We both knew, we were both elated. It would be difficult, I knew. He had a 6 year old son, so I wasn't just going to be a wife, but a mother, and remember, I was only 18. It was wonderful though. We decided not to postpone, we wanted to begin our lives immediately. So, 5 months after we had met, we officially became James and Amy Hughes.



Ian was with us from the beginning



Then came Layla



Soon after, Josiah



Next, the twins




Ruth




and Hannah





I think God knew what He was doing. :)


And Happy Birthday Liam Wahl! Two years ago we spent our anniversary in the hospital awaiting your arrival. We love you and your beautiful mama!

8 comments:

Leanne Barker said...

happy anniversary! Caleb said that he thought Layla was an angel from God in the last picture. I said that's Layla and he said oh yeah she's a princess. And Ian looks like he's about 18 yrs old! Hope you have a great day!

Meghann said...

that is a great God story of your lives! thank you for sharing it...you put a smile on my face today :) ya'll are so blessed with a beautiful family!

just think...since you married so young you get SO MANY more years together! how awesome is that?!

Amanda said...

What a great story to tell the grand kids! Sorry I've been "off line" for a while, long story....internet trouble, sick children, sick momma....anyway it's good to be back and see all is well in your neck of the woods!

God Bless,
Amanda

Anonymous said...

Happy anniversary...it looks like you all have a lovely family. I was touched by your comment on Pursuing Titus 2 and I just wanted to stop by and visit.

Krystal said...

That was an awesome story! So cute!

My husband "stalked" me for a year before I would give him the time of day... Hey, a girl's gotta play the game, right? HA!

PS - I found your blog through another blog.

:)

Anonymous said...

I'm sorry I'm late, but happy anniversary! Such a sweet post, and you truly are blessed!

The Brutsman Family said...

Happy Anniversary! (A bit late.)

You have such a wonderful story. And Meghann is right, getting married young means many more years together. I was only 19 when I married my husband. We are expecting baby #6 in June and will celebrate our 9 year anniversary in July.

Julia said...

I just found your blog through a comment on Daily Pleasures. What an amazing love story! Thanks for sharing.