Part 9:Pursuit

Along the way, I felt a huge peace in my heart about my friendship with Stuart. I was being cautious because of everything that had happened that summer and really that whole year. I was also thinking about going to seminary or possibly heading back to Charlotte to live and work. So having a boyfriend at this point was less than idyllic.

I shared my predicaments with my Bible Study girls whom I am so thankful for because they really held me accountable with my heart. More so my sweet roomie LD/Sexy Turtle (Congratulations on your Engagement) kept reminding me that I deserved to be pursued. In fact yesterday I found a card that she made for me that had lost of wisdom about relationships in general--that I was worth the wait, worth being pursued, worth feeling special.

After our first "hang-out/date" I told LD that I didn't want to date Stuart but that I could see myself marrying him. It was THAT clear to me that if I ever did end up with someone, it would either be Stuart or someone REALLY like Stuart. And it wasn't ONE particular thing about him...it was EVERYTHING about him.

My impression of Stuart was that he was very sure of who he was in Christ and why he was in Spartanburg of all places (he moved from Asheville to California to Raleigh to Florida to Spartanburg). He loved serving (worship) and was/is HYSTERICAL. No better way to win a woman's heart than through humor. I also had great respect and admiration for him. Sure it was weird that he loved shoes and jackets...but it was so great that he wasn't trying to be macho and try to impress me. From the very beginning, Stuart was completely honest about who he was and that was SO refreshing for me.

From the day that we met on the Hopepoint stage, Stuart and I hit it off but we were both at a point in our lives where we knew that relationships were a SERIOUS thing. They were worth taking the time to build and worth the effort and prayer. There were no games in our friendship, no expectations and honestly no worries. I trusted him immediately because he was a believer and because I knew in my heart that he would be seeking the Lord about us just as much as I was freaking out about us. See, Stuart does the smart and practical things while I freak out and THEN remember I need to consult the Creator of the World =)

So how did Stuart pursue me?

Through his writing.

We wrote messages like the ones I posted, FOREVER, even when we DID start hanging out and seeing each other more. When he finally got my number, we talked every night and he even bought me a cell phone when he moved to Lake Bowen so that I could talk to him on the phone when I walked from the parking lot to my dorm.

But things weren't always easy. The day he decided to have the DTR (Define The Relationship) talk, I was a mess. But that's for the next post.

Chapter 8 Part II:Turning Points

So as Stuart and I exchanged many conversations over Facebook, I tried to convince myself that this was pretty normal girl-boy conversations. There were times where my heart would skip MANY beats...not because he was being flirty or romantical (at this point I don't think we really liked each other like that yet) but because of his sincere care for me and his pursuit of Christ. Here are some of my favorite messages that he sent to me whilst I was in need of a Godly friend. All of these conversations happened in September 2007, a year and 2 months before we got married =) I hope you enjoy!

Stuart Campbell Hansen

• I did just take a great nap, but it might have been too late. I feel like I'm getting sick already. Plus it was cold in VA and I don't think that helped. Hopefully it won't get too bad.
  
  You do type ahh! a lot. It's funny. I type haha too much I think.
  
  I will definitely keep you in prayer about grad school. In fact I will do that right after I send this. I'm not trying to play my age card, but I know what you're facing right now. It's scary and hard, but so exciting. And as long as you're spending time with God and giving it all to Him it's going to be right. Whatever happens. I know I'm not telling you anything you don't already know, but it's so good to be reminded. I took so much comfort in Jeremiah 29:11 when I was going through career changes and moving and all that. Anyway, I'm going to pray, watch football, and cook some dinner with Daniel. Go Pamfa's!
  
  
  Stuart Campbell Hansen

  • I'm sorry you're having an ahhhh! moment. Sometimes you can learn a lot from those. Those are the times we need to rely on the Lord the most. I'm kind of having one because I just met with my YL team and we planned out club tomorrow night even though we don't have a place to have it yet. Hopefully something will come up, if not I guess we'll just hang out with kids at Bruster's. Anyway, I'm trying to remain calm and know that whatever we do we're going to hang out with Boiling Springs kids tomorrow night and get to know them and be apart of their lives. It sounds cheesy but the devil always attacks during times like this. He wants us to be discouraged and feel like we can't do it. He wants us to give up and fail. Anyway, now I'm rambling. I'm glad we can ramble to each other.
    
    Have a great night. Be patient.
    
    
    Stuart Campbell Hansen

    • Why do I need aim when I can read awesome long messages like that. We could put our conversations in a book and sell it. People would laugh at us, but we could sell a few copies. You don't have to worry about messaging me if you're busy. I mean I do love the messages, they help me get through the day. But no pressure. haha. I'm glad for your revelation today. It's cool that you can learn a lot about yourself from one simple conversation. Daniel and I were actually talking about how cool you were after you played at church with us. I mean you were the only girl at practice, the youngest, didn't know us (except Josh) and you were really fun and fit right in. That's really strong to me. I'm always quiet and shy when I meet new people. It takes me a while to warm up and come out of my shell.
      
      Okay so I just got the new Jimmy Eat World cd today. It is so good. I love them. They just have the best, most fun sound. I want to go driving somewhere with a good view and just blast it. haha. My favorite thing is going on road trips and listening to good music while enjoying the view of God's creation pass by. Cheesy I know, but I love it. When I drove across the country and back I saw so many awesome landscapes and places. And I had a soundtrack right there in my car along the way. That's usually what I do in the car. Praying is good to do in the car too. As long as you don't close your eyes. haha. That's a bad idea. Alright I think I'm going to start making my way towards bed.
      
      You def. earned big points for cheering for the Pirates. I like NC State, but when ECU plays them I'm cheering for ECU. You're awesome. Goodnight!

Chapter 8: Love Notes via Facebook

I hate to admit this but Stuart and I started out our friendship ALOT online. From 1 Facebook message to 2 or 3 a day to over 1000 by the time we got married. Here are our first conversations:

• • i'm refraining from msging u on ur wall coz now it just looks like i'm desperate...ahhh! that's cool...Grant and i aren't that close but he's a good guy...great with kids  do u have AIM?
• 
  

  September 30, 2007

  Stuart Campbell Hansen

  • I don't have AIM anymore. I mean I live right around the corner from Converse though. You could probably walk like 50 feet and so could I and then we could just talk for real. Haha.
• 
  

  September 30, 2007

  Rachel Ng Hansen

  • awww...how sweet...no serious...next time i'm up for a night walk, i'll msg u  u can be my bodyguard against the bad squirrels and falling branches. deal?
• 
  

  September 30, 2007

  Stuart Campbell Hansen

  • It's a deal except my two biggest fears are squirrels and falling branches. So I watch your back you watch mine? Haha. Night walks are cool, but if you have a bike, night bike rides are real fun. Okay maybe not pitch black night rides, but when it's cool and the sun is starting to go down but it's safe and cars can still see you. That's fun. I love riding my bike through Converse heights. Anyway, maybe that was too much information, sorry. But yeah it's a deal.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    

Chapter 7: Boys

So my track record with boys so far were...dated 1 guy.

not too shabby.

I remember coming in to Freshmen year at Converse, boys were on the radar CONSTANTLY. I had my whole checklist:

Christian, Check
Left handed, Check
Cute, Check Check
Blue Eyes, CHECK.

but this Checklist became and idol in my heart. God was quick to show that to me. So out went the list, in came "the boy I dated." When that was done, in came "singleness."

I put that in quotations not because I was not sincere about singleness, but because I wasn't single for very long. It was both a good and bad thing for me at the time.

See, after my heart was wrenched and then healed in Colorado then broken when my band left, to say that I was running away from commitment was an understatement. I had it all planned--Seminary in New Orleans, live in Italy for a year, go to a Californian vineyard and then Africa and maybe back to malaysia for a while. NO COMMITMENTS, except to the PLAN of course.

The start of my senior year was great at Converse...despite my Band being gone, I was determined to start over and make it the best year yet. My roomie AKA Sexy Turtle was awesome and allowed me to help her on her own journey with the Lord which inspired me to work on mine. The girls whom I had Bible Study with from my Sophomore to my Senior year, were all starting to grow up in the Lord and we learned to love each other through our good times and bad times. It was a neat reflection of God's desire for the church.

In fact, it was then that I made a commitment to myself that I would ALWAYS have good girl friends around me, because there is nothing sweeter than relationships with the same sex. I mean, we giggled and rolled around laughing like there was no tomorrow. Those 3 years were incredibly heart-warming and important to me. I would go as far as to say that they shaped alot of who I am today.

So with all this in mind, I was pretty stoked about the future. Boys were not part of the equation. I was so convinced of this that I told God that I wouldn't mind being single for the rest of my life. I mean, as long as I had some good Godly friends, I would be GREAT! Diane Lane in "Under the Tuscan Sun" was whom I thought I would live my life out to be. Romantic, Emotional, Vulnerable, but not dependent on boys. No siree!

Enter the Divine Thwarter: God

Since the Sunday at Hopepoint where I met Josh, I was eagerly anticipating September 29th. I was invited to practice with the Hopepoint band to play that Sunday. I tried to keep calm and cool but inside I was REALLY excited to be playing again.

I remember it like it was yesterday. It was a perfect Fall Saturday. Breezy but with some Sun peeking through the trees. It was a tee-shirt and sweat pants day.

Sexy Turtle and I woke up that morning to power walk through a nearby neighborhood followed by breakfast in the Dining Hall. We typically slept till 11am on Saturday mornings but I think Sexy Turtle convinced me to go work out somehow.

We finished the afternoon with my "Yoga for weight loss"  DVD whilst contemplating how we would get fit and skinny like those Yoga instructers. As we finished up, I realized that I was running a little behind to get to practice. I quickly showered and got dressed in my fave Giraffe LOVE shirt and I was off to practice...excited...full of anticipation.

And then I got there.

First thought "These guys are OLD and GROSS. I'm DEFINITELY NOT going to Fall in Love with any of them."

There was Daniel, who had pretty blue eyes but his beard...grody.
There was Lee, OLD.
There was Josh, VERY hairy.
And there was Stuart. Shy.

No one my type, which was GREAT because remember, I had a plan and my checklist was out the window so there was no need for me to scout for boys.

So I did what any girl would do after a perfect Saturday...I did my post yoga cool down stretches as I looked over the worship music, hoping next weekend would be as good.

Chapter 6: Flashback

On June 7th, many years ago, I was born to a humble family in Malaysia. Malaysia is HOT and HUMID but it is so incredibly beautiful. I loved and still love my country (I had to add this part because I recently became a citizen and it has been one of the hardest things for me to grasp)!

I grew up being pretty smart...well, by that I mean I got As and Bs and the occasional C. When I hit high school at age 13, I was a big deal. My group of friends and I were, if not the MOST popular kids in school, we were pretty high up there. People knew my name. It was weird. They would say hey to me and I'd think to myself "Who the * is that" Yes. I was a potty mouth. I was living a double life of serving Jesus on Sundays but being completely rid of Him from Monday-Friday. I was mean to kids who weren't popular--I never punched them, but I never had compassion for them either. They just didn't GET IT and who was I to help them figure it out. I was happy to be on top! My life consisted of ME, ME, ME and I was fine with that, Thank you very much. I mean, I was pretty, popular, kinda smart and all the teachers loved me. I was the girl you hate to love. And I wasn't afraid to brag about it either.

Some pretty rude awakenings took place. My Dad left us for America that year, my Mom was in a very deep depression so much so that she would forget to pick me up from school or she'd pick me up, leave me at home, and gamble with her friends. My sisters had their own lives which I didn't mind because whenever they took interest in me, it was to tell me to study and to advise me to ward off boys. There was a strict rule in my house--no dating until college--and I was fine with that because it actually made the boys want me more. HAH! But in all honesty, I was definitely becoming more and more out-of-control. It was not a pretty sight.

Being out-of-control at home made me more rebellious at school because I had control of who I was and what I could do with that power. I lost one group of friends because I didn't go into the smart class with them, so now with my newfound friends, I was even worse! We were all nice to each other of course, but the pride from being popular and involved at school got to all of us.

Thankfully, my internal struggles with the Lord began that year. I say "thankfully" because at least I was in conversation with God. I constantly asked "why me?" and "What did I do to deserve this?" Remember, I felt lots of entitlement during this time. So while it wasn't "Thank You Lord," it did start this interesting wrestling event with God's character. I knew God was good. We sang about it ALL the time. But why was He good? Why did people say that when He allowed so much pain. Yes, the typical "If God loves me, why am I sad?" type questions.

But with all things God-related. Change comes.

Yes. Things started changing. I would like to call these years my sobering years. The deep hurt that I was trying so hard to ignore and in turn lash out at school, started catching up with me. I could no longer ignore the fact that I was deeply missing a Father and deeply needing a Mother. But how does a 13year old voice that exactly? All we know to do is to turn to whomever would show us a glimmer of Love or self-worth. My best friend during that time was who I clung to. He was a year older than me, smarter (like he made ALL As) and he shared my love for music. While he made me feel all kinds of special, I knew somewhere in my heart that God was calling me to something bigger. Something unearthly. Something eternal.

While I would say I became a Christian at the ripe ole' age of 7, it wasn't until my teenage years that I truly had a two-sided conversation with God. I had no one else to talk to, really.

So my birthday started becoming very special to me. June 7th every year was a reminder of what the previous year held and what the next year promised. I spent every June 7th in deep thought and I journaled forever. I made promises to myself, to God; I wrote down hopes and dreams for myself and I recorded every single event that had happened that past year and how I was thankful that it did.

While my self-worth made no improvement, God's clear plan for my life did. I woke up one morning, at 16 years of age,  and the silent whisper came. "Go to America. Go be with your Dad."

Fast forward to an early morning on June 7th, 2007 in Gunnison, Colorado. Chas and myself were cycling to the church per usual. It was my 22nd birthday and it was the year I would finally get baptized. See, my sisters and I made a pact that we would only get baptized after our 21st birthday to honor our parents. We were raised Catholic but accepted Jesus on our own. I was excited that this day was here because now I could share my testimony with others about my Catholic upbringing and why Jesus offered salvation to us all, freely, without works.

While about an eye-shot from the church, Chas exclaimed loudly,

"Rachel! It's SNOWING! It's SNOWING! It's SNOWING ON YOUR BIRTHDAY!"

My heart leaped. I knew that God was speaking to me. I knew that this was the beginning of a new journey, with new promises and new dreams.

Chapter 5: Ugly Cry Fest

(Laura, Me, Krista, Courtney M)

Senior year began quickly. My new roomie, Laura aka Sexy Turtle, and I, aka Polar Bear, were inseparable. We were on a quest to find Jesus and to figure out His plan for our lives. K-Town, CB, CM, LD and me (girls in a College Bible Study that I led).
All 5 of us spent alot of time giggling as I remember. We were off to a good start.

I had pretty much forgotten about my minor breakdown when I found out I would no longer have a band...life goes on right?

Life was exciting. Through many walks and talks with my best buddies at Converse, I grew to love my time of singleness and my time in Sparkle city more and more. I remember CM and I talking until 2am one night, sitting on the patio of Montgomery and whilst reminicing on boys and the summer, I told her the Lord was changing my heart for Spartanburg. As a Freshmen I was happy I got to go home during the Summer because there was just NOTHING TO DO in Sparkle City but now, I was starting love it. Sparkle City may just be the place for me.

The first week of Sunago could not come quickly enough. I was so excited to see all my friends from other schools and catch up on what they did that summer. I was excited to tell everyone about Colorado and how God met me there. I was excited, excited, excited...but not ready.

~~So sometimes I have high hopes for myself AKA I don't let myself properly grieve and then when the time comes, I have major UGLY CRY.

Walking into the infamous Hanger auditorium, I watched nervously as some guys stood on stage. The very same stage that our band had been on; the very same instruments we had, except now, there were different people playing them. It was all too familiar... but not, because I wasn't up there. It wasn't the Sunago band. Robert and Grace...weren't there.

I peeled my eyes away from the worship leader who I'm sure felt the death rays from my eyes at the back of his head. I held back hot and angry tears from my eyes and resolved "The Lord has a plan" as I sat quietly.

To say I didn't worship is an understatement. I was in the midst of a full-out WAR in my heart.
"I cannot believe we have been so easily replaced!"
"Who are these people anyway?"
"Are they college students? Because this is a college-student-led-group"
"Are they just here for tonight?"

Apparently I had some sort of entitlement to all of this. My pride told me that I should DEMAND an answer to all my questions and disbeliefs. By the end of the night, the sweet Holy Spirit whom I am sure I very quickly quenched, opened my eyes. "Be still."

I felt so incredibly guilty for those nasty thoughts that after Sunago was finished, I forced my legs to lead me toward the stage.

The guys were packing up their things and I finally caught the Worship Leader's eye. I waved and smiled and thanked him for being there to lead us in Worship. He was rather abrupt when he saw me and after I named dropped AKA  saying "I was part of the band that used to lead worship here...", he smiled thoughtfully.

As I heard those words escape my mouth, it hit me really hard.

WAS

I was

I was with the band....

that USED to lead worship...

Here...

But before falling into deep despair, Josh, the Worship Leader exclaimed loudly "Ohhhh you're Rachel! The Keyboardist! I heard y'alls CD! You are really good! I wanted to see if you'd like to play with our band!"

Chapter 4:To Gather to Go!

SUNAGO: To Gather to Go (The name of our College ministry)


A picture perfect summer.
Breathing deeper than I have ever breathed before.
Contented.
Overwhelmed.
Rested.

Alot of my thoughts that summer swarmed around healing, adventure and solitude. And at the end of it, I was ready to come home, ready to start a new year at school--my senior year--and ready to take on every challenge there was. As if we hadn't already experienced enough challenges in Colorado...

 H, CG, Me, A, Chas

Each week, a missionary would be challenged. In fact, we would be attacked.

CG found out her Dad had cancer. H's house was hit by a tornado. Chas was incredibly homesick until she physically got ill and A's good friend was killed in a freak accident at a parade. I waited for my red letter and it came.

Robert was alot of things to me. He was the Worship Leader of the band I was in, a man I looked up to, a wonderful father of 2, an amazing husband, a talented musician, hysterical, comforting and caring.

Grace, his wife, was who I wanted to be as a woman, as a mom, as a wife. She was beautiful, fierce in her love for her children, had a voice that made your heart sink whenever she pleaded to God for mercy. She loved sharing secret smiles with Robert and she loved us, like we were her kids.

This amazing couple was my family away from family. In fact at times, I knew God sent them to me to show me what family is. They loved the Lord and loved serving Him. They opened their house to us, they cooked yummy food for us, they watched silly movies with us and shared their life and children with us. In fact, I prayed that my marriage would be like theirs; I prayed that I would take care of my family the way they took care of theirs; and I prayed that I would be family to college students who didn't have one. With Mitch the bassist, Will the Guitarist and Jimmy the drummer, we were a family. Our Sunago Worship Band wa a family.

So back to Colorado...

The facebook message came the week it was "my turn" to be challenged.

Robert and his family were leaving.

They were leaving South Carolina to....Louisiana.

"Louisiana?" I exclaimed, perplexed.

As tears rolled down my cheeks, I could hear the slow fainting of my heart. I was crushed. The Sunago Band was my identity. I was a keyboardist in this band. I was part of something real and good and fun. And now...it was gone.

~~Artists use their gift as their language. Music is mine. Whenever I lack the words to express heartbreak or joy, or anything I feel, I go to music. I played my heart out every Thursday night at Sunago, as if the music created was my very love letter to God. Every note and tune was inspired by Him and through this band, I got to the point in my own Walk, where it wasn't about performance any more, it was about true worship. Through our times of Worship, I was free to express my fear, my anxiety, my longing for something greater without worrying about the right notes, the right chords, what others would think...

What I experienced during our times of Worship was so intimate for me, even though we were in front of 100 or so college students. A successful band to me, is when each instrument can portray exactly what another instrumentalist feels in their heart, as if they were an extension of the music you play. The members of this band were my extensions. Robert and Grace sang MY heart's cries and MY heart's desires to our Maker. That was how deep our connection was. And now it would be no more.

~~I couldn't believe that I went to Colorado to be healed, but more things were being stripped away. I was angry and hurt but happy for them, but...sad for us. I was a hot mess to say the least.

Looking back, I see God's sovereign plan. As I mentioned earlier, God was stripping me of my identities...all the ones that weren't found in Him.

First, God took away the relationship I had with by ex because my self-worth was so connected to him loving me.

Then, God took away the relationships I had with the members of this band, because I felt like I belonged there and was safe, almost cliquey with this group of people.

God was sending me a message...that it was HIM alone who wanted to love me and who wanted to show me that I belonged with Him.

While it wasn't what I wanted to hear, and once again, I was kicking and screaming against God's apparent "Will-of-Sadness-and-Suffering" in my life, there really wasn't anything I could do. Yes I was mad and disappointed and perhaps I was even mad at God for all this.

But God.

But God.

But God.

God is good. He is kind. He is loving. He wants the best for me.

That is all I heard the Spirit tell me.

And each day it got easier, and my path got straighter and His light shone brighter. God was gathering me to Him, to be set apart; to Go when and where He would ask me to.