To love would be an awefully great adventure....

I had known Tez for a while....

There was that time we first met, where he helped me with my "dance moves" at a conference

There was that time we went on that "date"

aaaannnnddd that pretty much sums it up...

Love didn't bloom that night, but a friendship grew.

He was off of my radar for the longest.
More than likely because he didn't give me the attention I wanted...
Which, looking back, I am so thankful for.
I needed to grow.
I needed to learn that I was loveable, apart from a boy.
I needed a time to be captivated by the One's whose heart sought after me for longer than I'd known...

And in the process I had kind of thrown love out of the window b/c I learned of an Ancient Love and that was enough...

And I made plans, plans to leave the country.
The paperwork was filed,
The support was being raised.

And then this Indonesian kid and I, who I had known for a while, started randomly running into each other...
We had these great conversations...
There was the time we stood before bookcases of movies picking out our favorites... they were all the same....
The time he played the guitar...Iron and Wine...I would be lying if I didn't say I swooned a bit... just a bit...
I observed him from afar and his character was something I had never seen in another guy, that I respected a lot.

But I was not to be sidetracked! I had a plan!
Even when all my friends told me that he acted differently around me...
Even when I saw it too...
Even after praying about it and knowing it was ok to like him-I stuck to my plan.
Until a sweet Brazilian friend was brave enough to tell me my plan was stupid and not spiritual at all... in the Elizabeth Elliot way I thought it was.

Then there was this one day. We were hanging out and he was helping me pack some old things into boxes, he had somewhere to be and I needed to drive him back but I lost my keys

The only thing I could think was that they were somewhere in the boxes.

He was kind... we went through all of the boxes, reopening them all, sifting through them all and I felt so stupid.
I was sure he felt the same about me although he was obviously keeping it to himself.

After searching through those boxes and boxes and boxes they were still nowhere to be found.

I looked around hopelessly, only to see the keys laying there... on the trash can.

I knew he would make fun of me for sure, I knew that one could only hold in sarcasm for so long...

He laughed and said "I have done the same thing" and smiled...
a genuine smile...
not fake....

that day, I saw him in a new light... and I really started taking note....

I saw patience...
I saw grace...
I had never seen it like that before...
And I knew this guy was special...

I am still taking note...
On this day 26 years ago, an Indonesian boy was born...
And I know he wasn't born for me....
And I know he didn't end up halfway across the world for me...
But with so many coincidences sometimes I like to think all romantic like that.... especially as we celebrate his Birthday

And since I've married him, he is still patient...

and gracious...

and I am thankful