Dancing in the Minefields

Great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me.

On Saturday night Will King asked me to marry him, and I said yes.  Tonight, as I sit down to write this blog entry, I am smiling.  For over a year, I’ve taken a seat at the computer with a good glass of red wine, played a song on repeat, and let the tears come with my thoughts.  But tonight, the tears are gone – replaced by the peace that comes with love that is a gift from a faithful God.

In September, I got invited to a lunch celebrating the opening of a new HEB in town.  At my table - sitting one person away from me - was Will.  We introduced ourselves, walked to the buffet table, and started talking.  I could tell immediately that he was brilliant, but unassuming.  Kind but strong.  Worldly, but a Texan (and an Aggie) at heart.  I was struck by the kindness and openness in his eyes, and I wanted to know more.

The Friday after we met, after emailing back and forth all week, Will asked me to go to an Aggie football game.  I didn’t know how much he knew about me, but I had promised myself that if I ever was in this situation, I would lay everything out on the table.  I knew that not every man would be able to handle what came along with spending time with me, but that anyone worth my time would want me, the whole me, exactly as it was.  So that Friday, I told him no.  Then I added him as my Facebook friend.  I knew that anything he wanted to know about me he could find there.  The next Monday, I had an email from him waiting for me when I got to my office.  It wasn’t until months later that he told me he found my blog the
first day that we me, and knew everything about me from the beginning.

Once we started talking, we didn’t stop.  From our first two hour lunch, to mile-long, hilarious emails, to perfectly grammatically correct text messages (who else uses semi-colons in texts?), to phone calls lasting long into the night – it was so easy, so comfortable, right from the start. Our jobs are similar, so we started talking about work, but it wasn’t long before we were talking about everything.

Will is an amazing man.  He loves me, and Colleen, and our families with his whole heart.  He has become my best friend, my partner, my confidant.  He loves me for exactly who I am - we are so happy together.  And seeing Colleen grow to love Will is one of the greatest gifts of my life.

I didn’t know what it would be like to fall in love again. I still love Chris, and I will for the rest of my life.  Every day I will look at Colleen and see him in her eyes.  But my love for Will is separate from that love.  My love for Will doesn’t change that love – it’s like my heart just expanded to hold more.

Neither of us went in to that lunch expecting this could happen.  It was completely off our radar – we weren’t looking, or even thinking about it.  But it did.  God led me to Will – he led us to each other.  He has given me this person, this incredible gift, this miracle that I didn’t know I would ever get again.  We are each other’s greatest blessing.

So now, here we are.  No matter how happy we are – we know that life is not always easy. There will be storms and minefields – especially when you are raising a 3 year old.  But together – we can do anything.  Thanks be to God.

Dancing in the Minefields – Andrew Peterson
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtTa81LyuQM

Well I was 19 you were 21
The year we got engaged
Everyone said we were much to young
But we did it anyway
We got the rings for 40 each from a pawnshop down the road
We said our vows and took the leap now 15 years ago

Chorus:
We went dancing in the minefields
We went sailing in the storm
And it was harder than we dreamed
But I believe that’s what the promise is for

Well ‘I do’ are the two most famous last words
The beginning of the end
But to lose your life for another I’ve heard is a good place to begin
Cause the only way to find your life is to lay your own life down
And I believe it’s an easy price for the life that we have found

Chorus:
And we’re dancing in the minefields
We’re sailing in the storm
This is harder than we dreamed
But I believe that’s what the promise is for
That’s what the promise is for

Bridge:
So when I lose my way, find me
When I loose love’s chains, bind me
At the end of all my faith
to the end of all my days
when I forget my name, remind me

Cause we bear the light of the son of man 
So there’s nothing left to fear 
So I’ll walk with you in the shadow lands 
Till the shadows disappear 
Cause he promised not to leave us 
And his promises are true 
So in the face of all this chaos baby 
I can dance with you 

Chorus:
So let’s go dancing in the minefields
Lets go sailing in the storms
Oh let’s go dancing in the minefields
And kicking down the doors
Oh let’s go dancing in the minefields
And sailing in the storms
Oh this is harder than we dreamed
But I believe that’s what the promise is for
That’s what the promise is for