Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead. ~Philippians 3:13.
It’s odd leaving one’s childhood behind. On October 9, 2009, I stood for the last time in the backyard of my childhood home and said goodbye…my life so different than it once was, but I found no need for tears. It was time to go and there was peace in my heart. I knew, deep down in the innermost parts of my soul that God was calling me elsewhere. No questions or doubts on my part…Fort Worth is now where I am called to be…at least for a short time.
It has been a hard year. Failing the NCLEX, Mother getting sick, loosing the man I loved, and, finally, loosing that Mother who had always been the strength and backbone of my family. Many tears have been shed, many prayers prayed, and daily a heart full of pain and anguish raised to the only One who hears the deepest cry of the heart. A few nights before leaving Shreveport for Fort Worth the dam finally broke and all the tears that had been locked away finally were loosed and I wept…and in that weeping something beautiful happened. I let go. I let go of dreams I had been holding onto, scared to give up and I realized that all would be well. I was finally ready to put that chapter of my life behind me and look forward to the future with a heart filled with excitement.
And then, something exciting did happen. God, in His beautiful wisdom, worked everything out and now I sit here, three weeks after leaving Shreveport, happier than I have been in months and more ready than ever to move forward.
Quietly and without drama (only those of you who know me well will understand the significance of that statement) God brought love and hope back into my heart in the form of a wonderful man named Zachary Franklin. Would you care for a story?
It begins ten years ago, on May 29, 1999. My family was attending our first Southern Heritage Ball in Monroe, LA as was the Franklin family. Now, for all of you who have been to the Monroe Balls, I don’t need to spell it out too much…you know how it works. Families and kids meet and we all kept up with each other, seeing each other once or twice a year. And sometimes things happen…sometimes.:-)
Well, I asked Zach back in May to attend my darling Julie’s wedding on October 25th with me as I needed a good dance partner. Zach, being the gentleman he is and always up for a good time, of course said yes. Over the summer we talked a couple of times and I suppose got to know each other better. Being that we are both in the medical profession (he’s and EMT/Paramedic) we always have plenty of disgusting things to talk about so to put it lightly our conversations are quite interesting (medical people really shouldn’t be allowed to date). Then, the week I moved to Fort Worth, I was on the phone with Zach discussing some major drama that had happened and our conversation had wandered to other topics when he mentioned that he would like to do medical missions…and that was pretty much it. A switch somewhere deep inside me switched and I pretty much knew that I know liked Zachary Franklin…my first thought was pretty much “Oh great, God what are you up to this time? Really? Honestly?”
So, I decided to behave myself, but apparently He could tell that I was interested so he dug up an excuse to come up that week…for you see, Zach has apparently has apparently been secretly crushing on me for 10 years unknown to anyone. His sister, Rachel, who happens to be one of my best friends, was giving him a couch and so he suddenly had an urgent reason to come get it. He came, we felt each other out while hanging out with some friends, he went back home, and that Saturday, one week after moving, he asked me out…and I couldn’t think of a good reason to say no…so I said yes and was quite happy and excited about the fact. Something about everything that was happening just seemed to fit.
Well, we kept it quiet (unusual for me I know) and only told our families that week. A blessing was obtained from his parents, Rachel approved, and I called my dad and filled him in…and surprisingly he was cool with it as well. So, after a long hard day at work Zach picked me up and took me off to Carrabbas for dinner and my ever favorite Pomegranate Martini…J It was one of those epic fail first dates…for him anyway…I was martini happy…but we came through it and quite enjoyed ourselves by the end of it. Agreeing that we really wanted to see it this could work we parted ways at 3am and I went to bed.
The next day we headed to Shreveport, beginning to spread the good news to friends along the way…everyone was quite shocked as all of this was very out of the blue…and eventually arrived in Shreveport for the great moving party (Thank you every so much to Randie, Robbie, Jaime, Paul and Evan for all their help getting me into the new apartment.) Zach was also able to have a chat with Daddy and received his blessing for our go ahead. It was quite a lovely weekend…J
So now, the adventure starts and we shall see where it ends up. I for one, am quite excited…He sends me roses at work…I just happen to think that’s very nice…J It’s nice to smile again…J
