It Just Makes Sense

Anna & I in the garden hut

 On September 7, 2009 I took a trip with Anna, Kristy, & David... little did I know then that it would be the beginning of something extra special.

I'm not sure what encouraged us to take a this trip to Chico Hot Springs.. but we also piled into my car for a day trip to the spring. I remember listening to music and jamming and singing all the way there.  It was a cool day.... perfect for soaking in the natural hot springs. I'm also not sure how it ended up being this group... but it was a great success!

Lets go back a few months to catch up a little....

David and I had been hanging out all summer... and I really wanted our relationship to be something meaningful..something more. But because of some intresting circumstances and commintments that David had been involved in... we could only be friends.... He was part of an accountability group that promised to keep him accountable to the things he asked them too. David had just recently ended a relationship with one of our mutual friends (sometime at the end of June) and had decided to take a 6 month time out of dating relationships....



All of this happened before I was in the picture...

So about the beginning of July I entered this love story. It was the 4th of July and I went to my friends Zach's for a BBQ and fireworks in his neighborhood.. and David was there.  I was not awear of his break up.. I i totally asked him were Kelsey was.  Awkward.... I seem to always be a day late and a dollar short with the relationship gossip. We hung out that evening some... but I didn't really want to bother him much.

As the summer progressed... in to Camp Season at church I started working with Kelsey in the coffee shop at the church. We ended up talking about boys... and our "lists"of what we want in a guy... and she flat out told me that HAD to get to know Dave.... that I would probably marry him.

OK anyone else think thats a little weird? I did... its not at all now... but then it was. I mean they had just broke up and now she is telling me that I am going to marry him! 

BUT she piqued my interest... and my curiosity took over. I began to notice David all around the chuch and tried to be around when he was. I was helping out with our high school Encounter Conference and he was too.... I was more of a behind the scenes kind of girl were as he was an active leader in the youth group.  I will never forget setting up for the night party/dance when he and a guy named Josh dropped a PVC pipe on my nose and practically gave me a black eye!! SO Funny! We dance and had a great time... and before I knew it was August and we were going to the Fair together...

But it couldn't always be that easy... you see we were still friends and he was still commited to staying single until January. And because of his accountibality groups' concern as to where our relationship was headed, we made up rules to show that we were just friends... For example we would drive separately even when we would be going to the same places! Stupid... but we really wanted to make sure that we were honoring Dave's commitment to God...

Things got pretty awkward and weird between David and his accountability group.. and I was upset. There were some rough moments between them and the hardest part ..for me was that I was not in any control of the situation. So David and I had to take some time apart to think and pray about what was going on between us... and if it would be wrong of us to stay moving towards a dating relationship.
It was hard because when David and I were together everything felt right..and it was easy. He was encouraging me in my walk with the Lord.. and I know he was feeling the same way. But everyone looking in said it was wrong for us to be hanging out. ..... David's accountability group stepped in and said some very hurtful things.. all with good intentions at keeping David to his word... but I was so frustrated... I felt like the only people that were truly listening to God were Dave and I... and it finally came down to that. We prayed about it and felt that God was ok with us pursuing one another... and so we did. We didn't have to call it anything because it was a friendship that just worked.

The girls in the Garden

 Which brings us up to date..well back to September 7, 2009... We were not dating... but we were more than friends.. I and placed in the middle of those two emotions.  So we decided to let it play out.. I all the while praying and hoping that it would be God's will that we would one day be together.


My good friends Kristy and Anna suggested that we take a trip and off we went.... the 4 of us to Chico Hot Springs.

David took this..as Kristy was taking our picture

 When we got there we spent some time looking at the gardens and taking
pictures... David was a trooper.. He understood that I needed girl time and he played a great photographer..  And I believe all of us had a great day. God had given us a reprieve from all of the drama back home and we were able to be ourselves and enjoy the ride.

This one of my favorite pictures I took in the garden... its like a sunflower eclipse

This has to be one of my favorite pictures of the day!!!... Kristy was clueless

Anna having a great time playing her air guitar!!

We ate in the little pool side restaurant before we went swimming and all I really remember is that we laughed outloud at lot! Anna was singing and playing her air guitar and we all had a great time. I really enjoyed the laid back atmosphere we had together and it was fun to be away from town and out in the great Montana mountains. The pool was hot and we all were like slugs slowly moving...slowly thinking.. but it was so relaxing. There wasn't much conversation while we soaked... we were all content and knew that it was ok to just be... and no body tried to fill the silence because it wasn't awkward at all.... maybe it could have been but it wasn't


 

 After we soaked for a while.. we were all pretty much spent. It was a calm relaxing time and we decided to leave and going exploring.... we drove around a little until we found this little bridge that was over a river/creek... I think it was a creek and we just chilled. Anna started doing fun yoga poses and we all joined in. It was so FUN! David even got in on the YOGA action...

Anna doing yoga on a bridge

David and I went and sat down beside the creek and talked about God and life and it just felt right. Even though we still didn't lable our relationship and "dating" we were able to be ok with were were heading... I knew that there was going to be more to our story and it was going to be beautiful. It has been said and shown that the" beauty comes from ashes" and the struggles of life make for an even better story.. I and I like to think that our beginning was just molding us into a better story.. beautiful... and honest.  Even though it was tough in the midst of the mess.. I wouldn't go back and change the way it all came together.....

  Kristy and Anna crashed in the backseat and slept the whole way home... and it gave David and I are chances to talk and listen to music... i think put in Frank Sinatra and the rest is just history....