That Boy, Part 3

I guess Scott finally decided he needed to jump the gun. Just as school was starting up again, it was back to the usual hang-out night with Scott and company. He walked me out to the car again, as usual, afterwards. It almost seemed like he had something he wanted to say… but I had all but given up that thought. I left for my dorm and went straight to sleep. Apparently, Scott didn’t. He kicked himself for dropping another chance to talk to me about his feelings. He had reason to be nervous: he was risking a humiliating rejection by a college girl and the loss of a good friendship, for a chance at a relationship that was and would be against the rules for several more months, and to top it off, he had never done anything like this before!

Finally convinced that written words would be better than an incredibly awkward spoken conversation (keep in mind that, whether he knew this or not, I was at least as awkward as he was about this stuff), he made his most romantic, charming, smooth, and manly move yet—he confessed his feelings over a Facebook message. Now, before you hurry off to give him flack for it, I’ll admit that I think it was a decision that we were both quite thankful for. (That day together he could have told me, I had been feeling queasy already, and quite possibly may have thrown up from nerves if he had told me then. Which, no doubt, would have at least made for a good story).

So at one in the morning, five months from the day we met, he wrote that fateful message—expressing his thankfulness for our friendship, apologies for potentially ruining it and for doing this over Facebook, and his feelings that he felt God had prompted him to finally go ahead and talk to me about. Unfortunately for his nerves, I didn’t check it that night and slept in the next morning, then rushed to meet a friend for lunch—but just before leaving, decided to do a quick check, and there it was. I was totally stunned (and characteristically awkward). I was actually quite thankful that I was even able to drive safely that day, as my head was quite distracted. ;) Before leaving, I quickly typed back that I had been praying for a chance to talk, and that he was very special to me too, and that I would respond more later. To which he simply responded, “K sweet, this has been the most nervous 10 hours of my life! ha talk to you later.” (Adorable? I know.) Our awkward, delightful, blessed journey had only begun.

speaking of which, I was quite determined to finish these stories of our history before he proposed to me.... but, looks like he beat me to the punch. ;)

That Boy, Part 2

The group of us continued to hang out often, and Scott and I quickly found ourselves in the realm of good friends—thanks also in part to our many Facebook messages and even a few lengthy phone conversations (unfamiliar territory for both of us, I think). He was always eager to talk to me (I noticed this first at youth group) and we never seemed to run out of conversation—only time. I enjoyed watching him interact with the youth group kids (cliché? But he wasn’t) and by November I could hardly shake the feeling that something was bound to happen here. But… was that what I wanted? Typical girl, it was hard to know. I had already quite convinced myself that life was better for now without a “love interest.” But, maybe God had a different idea after all.

The big chance to end some of my confusion came in mid November, when Allen decided to have a youth group staff retreat in our quaint, pretty home town that he often told the others about. Finally, a chance to at least get my parents’ opinion of the situation! But Scott had a football game that Saturday… Tragic. But on one of our customary conversations as he walked me out to my car after we all hung out, he promised he would do his best to make it. Indeed, he somehow convinced his parents (perhaps something I should still be surprised about) to let him drive out two hours for the remaining 15-ish hours of the weekend retreat at my house. Not surprisingly, my mom took note of this fact. I was thrilled, of course, which mom also took note of, and two of us met him in town in my jeep and we all spent the rest of the evening playing games and baking cookies (the two of us—also customary). By the time the group left the next day, my mom didn’t hesitate a moment to ask her usual, “So, are you two kind of an item?” I said I didn’t know… a state that would continue for us for a while longer. ;) But at least my parents thought he was a good guy.

Over my Christmas break at home, he came to visit me twice—once with his brother and again by himself. At this point I think we can now agree that it was pretty obvious to almost everyone but ourselves that we both liked each other. But, I guess we were naively oblivious. …Although, there had been many a conversation—out at my car, the times we had to ourselves when he visited, over facebook…even a time when we talked for three hours on the phone!—when I had wondered whether he would finally confess his obvious undying love for me. ;) There was of course the fact that we wouldn’t be allowed to date anyway, since I was on youth staff and he was a student (completely understandable in pretty much every other situation)…but come on. I was dying here. But, our day together passed, at times in awkward silence as I waited painfully for him to give me some sort of clarity. Nope! It was certainly on his mind, but the timing wasn’t right (or… he was too chicken to lose my friendship… either way ;) ). Fine, I thought. If he hasn’t said anything by now, he probably never will. At least we had a great friendship.

"That Boy," Part 1

As it turns out, I should not have underestimated that high school senior from church. I met him on the second day of WOW week, August 19. He was a good friend of a guy I’d grown up with, Allen, who also went to Master’s and lived in Santa Clarita with his wife Vicky and was a youth director at the same church. It was Allen who asked me to consider helping with their junior high program… which, by chance, Scott also helped out with. I would later learn that my graduation announcement photo on Allen and Vicky’s fridge was the first glimpse Scott ever saw of me—as well as that Allen and Vicky had indeed had thoughts of setting us up before we even met. Foreshadowing!! ;)

One of the first times Scott and I began to converse, we started out with the usual topics I’d been well-rehearsed in from WOW week, including the never-relenting “So what do you think you want to do with your life?” (a question better phrased by Pastor Mike as “So what are you hoping God does with your pathetic life?”—either way). It happened of course that Scott told of his hope to be “either a pastor or a missionary.” As my friend Genie once put it, “Oh! Hey, what a coincidence—I want to marry one of those!”

Another interesting tidbit is that we both at one point or another had a sneaking suspicion that the other might be taken. During one of my first group lunch times at his house after church, his brother told a story mentioning “my brother’s girlfriend.” Being somewhat confused at the time as to which people in the house were his brothers, I sorta assumed that Mark meant Scott’s girlfriend. “Ah,” I thought to myself, “what a shame… that is, he seemed wiser than that. I’m sure she’s a nice girl.” I will confess that I was thrilled later to hear the same brother tease him when bowling, “Ah! Scott. That’s why you’ve never had a girlfriend.” Yup, my ears perked up… I’ll admit. And Scott of course (aside from thinking it possible that one of my friends he met had a “thing” for me) assumed in his classic pessimism that he would no sooner like me than be beaten up by some college boy who considered me his territory.

Another point was won by Scott on the night (I believe, once again bowling with the gang) he asked when my birthday was. “Oh, November 20^th? What do you know?! Mine is right after that, on December 7^th… that makes you only like two and a half weeks older than me!… you’re young!” He had noted my birthday before, of course. He just wanted to make sure that I noted the two. Nice work, Scott, nice work.

Out of the old; into the new!

And so, I figured, I had not only survived, but thoroughly enjoyed, my very first little mini-taste of international life and ministry (by myself, that is). It was a great trip—short, but packed in with thoughts and learning. I loved it! That little post-high-school week long trip gave me the mental “okay” to continue to entertain the thoughts of such things for my own future. Incidentally, it was also perhaps around this time that another godly young person first saw a picture of me on a friend’s refrigerator. He will come into the story later (and can now be happy he has been given his deserved mention in this blog ;) ).

I continued on to start college that fall. I was thrilled at the opportunity to go to my school of choice, The Master’s College. The first few weeks were a delightful whirlwind! So many new friends and wonderful people (not to mention MANY new facebook friend requests from people who’d just barely stepped out of the realm of “stranger.” Haha). Now, I’m going to go out on a limb and say that probably most, if not all, incoming students to TMC (and probably many other solid Christian schools) can hardly help but entertain at least SOME thoughts of “I wonder if the next person I meet of the opposite gender may be my future spouse?!” (Really, I think even those who try to avoid those thoughts will not get away with it for long, as our “W.O.W.” orientation week is always well known for its plentiful supply of marriage references. ;) I don’t really resent that, just find it appropriate to enjoy a laugh at.

So, now that I’ve qualified and excused myself (just kidding) I will admit that there were some of those thoughts in my girlish mind. Really, how can one not consider the reasonable possibility? “W.O.W. Week” (whose acronym makes little sense) is great fun, and one of the entertaining parts is to watch young students get into “introduction overload” mode. Seriously, by the end of the week, nearly every freshman feels that they must introduce themselves to, chat with, and subsequently add on facebook each person they meet at the pool or in the food line. It’s awesomely, hilariously, ridiculous—though certainly not bad, and again, not something I resent.

So of course I met and conversed with many great young people, and perhaps I should not mention that I would often check off in my head the guys I knew would not match well with me. And there I found myself, several weeks into school, and hardly a single potential guy on the radar. There were a few guys who I knew would be good friends, a few who’d probably be nothing, and one potential good friend from church, but he was still only a senior in high school. It wasn’t really a big disappointment. I decided that was exactly where God had me, and exactly where I wanted to be. My life should never be defined by liking some boy. I would enjoy the beginning of college with my head free of such concerns. I was content.