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.