3 Years!

 

 

 

It all started with a mission trip to Mexico in 2000. We were in our second meeting and praying over the trip when I heard this sweet voice praying a powerful prayer. I actually opened my eyes and looked up to see who this was and made it my intentions to get to know her.

Her name was Cindy Marlin and she was a freshman from St. Louis who liked a lot of the same things I did. I had graduated by this point and was getting ready to go to medical school. I was starting to think more seriously about the future and over the course of the next several weeks I saw a lot of qualities in her that I liked. I told her this and, well, she wasn't quite ready to get serious. STRIKE ONE.

So life goes on and we go our seperate ways. We occasionally run into each other at a ball game or church which always served to stir something inside of me. It always seemed she was never dating anyone either and I was still attracted to her. We both had other interest over the course of the next few years and as luck would have it, I was back in Fayetteville for a month the spring of 2003. I kept seeing her and once again the old desires were stirring up. I spend yet another month in Fayetteville during my 4th year of medical school and decide I am going to give it another shot. It seems her roommate Cathy keeps moving so I can sit by her at church and they have us over for dinner. I am thinking, "yeah, she likes me". She was thinking, "finally we can be just friends", but I didn't know this or I wouldn't have asked her out again for STRIKE TWO.

My roommate Matt McClure tells me how I should never give this girl another chance and take her name off the list for good. I am glad I didn't listen to him because in the fall of 2004 she saw the light for the first time. That is the same light I saw in 2000, the same light that emits from the sparks that fly each time we are together.

We started hanging out on the Saturday of Bikes Blues and BBQ with Chris and Katie Allen in 2004 and I asked her if I could seriously persue her while on a camping trip with friends at Lost Valley that same fall. I proposed to her in the fall of 2005 and we got married on March 25, 2006.

It has been an amazing and wonderful 3 years. As I look back we have been so blessed. We absolutely love where God has us right now. We still have lots to learn about marriage and how to grow closer as one, but we have come a long way since first being married 3 years ago.

Cindy, I love you so much. You are so very thoughtful and such a good partner in life. I am excited to see what the Lord has in store for us as we head into year #4 and working on growing ever closer as one, as God designed marriage.
Thank you for all of your support and patience with me.

Love,
Jason