Uncle D.D.

My dearest Uncle D.D.,

I know you absolutely adore the sound of that! Soon enough, you will find it charming and endearing, and 10 years from now it will have become part of your identity. If you are reading this blog and you are totally puzzled by "Uncle D.D." I am referring to Daniel, of course, and soon enough we will be able to share super exciting news with you. But for now, it must remain a mystery ;).

I had the most amazing day. I love days like this. When I know that everything I did today, large and small, was completely orchestrated by our Father. Everything just lined up perfectly, and He put people in my day that I needed to spend time with and fellowship with, and I so love that. As a woman, it is what I live for. I have a friend, who today also became my client, and let me say...she is absolutely fabulous. Not only beautiful on the outside, but has the matching interior, a true gift from above. She is so fun and interesting to talk to and from the moment she sat down in my chair I felt as though I could my true self and hold nothing back. It was like I had known her for years. Today she was such a blessing to me and I learned so much from her in the hour and a half that we spent together. I love-love-love how God does that! We had a chance to talk about how you and I met, and I delight in telling our love story. It is so unique, completely arranged by God, and the best yet....its short! Ha! I had to get that one in....sometimes we just have to laugh at ourselves. I began to tell about our first "outing" together and how that outing came about. I was so not looking for love. We both weren't. We were completely satisfied with being single for what we thought would be a very long time. I can still recall that first time I shook your hand in the Payne's kitchen. You were wearing jeans, a blue on aqua striped t-shirt, and of course, the white converse. I didn't feel a zing; I didn't see fireworks shooting out from behind your head, nor did I hear a deep voice call down from above. Instead, I felt this deep and calming peace that I had never before experienced, right in that split second of our hands first joining, it came over me like a wave and I was never the same. I've always been pretty conservative on first date conversations and our conversation that evening dove right into the heart of the matter. At dinner with the group, I tried to play it cool and act like I wasn't too interested, but the moment you picked the chair next to mine it took everything I had not to bust out in a happy cheer in front of the entire restaurant. The "Cool Act" didn't go so far and before I knew it we were talking about ministry, our victories and our mistakes, God's plan, where our lives were heading and all the in between. Our good-bye was pretty swift and nothing special, but I still had that feeling of complete and utter peace that I had never had before. On the ride home with Sophia, she looked at me as to question, "Exactly what happened tonight?", and before I could open my mouth we were both going 90-to-nothing. We both knew there was something different about you and something happened that night that you and I couldn't deny. Sometimes, I still can't believe I found you. It amazes me how God gives and takes away. You were and you are a gift. So the weeks went on (2 to be exact) and I found myself standing in my most favorite evening gown in front of an auditorium filled with people as a finalist for Miss Florida. In that very moment, every desire I had to conquer the crown completely escaped me. I didn't know exactly where and what God had in store for me but I knew whatever it was, it involved you and not a Miss Florida title. The adrenaline is crazy on stage, your most treasured thoughts fly out of your mouth when you step off the stage and begin to come down off of the rush and high from the experience. The first thing out of my mouth was "Thank you Lord! I can get married now!" I looked at my friend Erica and realized I had shocked us both. It tops my list for cool experiences....some may not think it was anything special, but for me it was raw, real, and completely filled with the Spirit. Most looked at us like we had 10 heads when we announced that we were getting married. However, even in those moments of people saying negative things and friends who didn't exactly act like friends, I still had the peace and calmness in my heart that I knew was from the Lord. I love the fact that we didn't view our love as a fairytale out of a book, something that we have watched in a movie and felt the need to emulate. We knew from the beginning, it was ordained by the Father, and as amazing as that was, our honesty about the realness and difficulties of marriage was ever present in our conversations and it was something we were so ready and eager to tackle together.

So, I know that's only part of our story. The point in reliving this with you was merely to say that God's ways are far better than our own. Following HIS path, HIS commandments, HIS ways lead me to you, and what a wonderful and amazing blessing you are. Each day it becomes clearer and clearer that God created us for each other. I love waking up everyday and having the honor and privilege to choose you all over again as my husband, my best friend, and my love.

Happy Friday!

K