A Year of New Beginnings

At the beginning of this year, 2008, I made a proclamation over my life – “It is a year of new beginnings!” Little did I know that a man from Lake Mary, FL had also declared those very same words for the upcoming year on New Year’s Eve, in a conversation with his friend.... How very true those words were for both of us!

Many of you know that at the beginning of 2008 I had been living in Cape Town, South Africa for over 3 years and was involved in a Christian ministry there. Originally I had planned on living there for another 2 years, but because of unfortunate circumstances and a major turn of events I found myself moving back to the USA during the month of February. It was a bitter-sweet decision to leave South Africa but I knew it was the right choice for me as I had the peace of God with me. I arrived in Lake Mary, Florida with my entire life packed in two suitcases!

I was at a very strange place in my life, not knowing what the next chapter would entail. I had closed the last chapter of my life, one which included plans for the next two years, and now with that chapter closed I felt clueless as to what might happen next. Living one day at a time truly was the mindset I lived out. Always ready for a new adventure and excited to start fresh and new, it was a thrill not knowing what road the Lord would lead me on. It wasn’t long before that all became crystal clear!

It was in Mid-March that my sister, Amy, started talking to me about a nice guy she knew who worked at the same company she worked at. She asked me if she could arrange for us to meet each other. I’ve never allowed my sister to set me up before and she had never tried before, but for some reason I said yes and thank goodness I did! It’s funny how it actually worked out though because Amy never did set up our date. Instead it was this unknown guy who decided to take matters into his own hands and asked Amy for my number! Once he got my number he called me up, we talked on the phone for a while and then agreed to go on a “blind” date with each other and that’s how the story of Steven & Jennifer began!

I was immediately drawn to Steven’s wonderful heart and was continually amazed by his humility. I had never met anyone like him before….nor will I ever. He is the sweetest, most thoughtful man I know and it didn’t take long before I realized that I loved him. I was often surprised with how much we discovered we had in common, from the smaller things in life like music, to the more important matters in life like our God-given calling and purpose. We connected instantly on so many levels that it almost seemed too good to be true, but it wasn’t! It is true. We found each other! There isn’t anyone else in this world that I would want to spend the rest of my life with!

God gave Steven to me. God gave me this perfect gift at the perfect time! Our "New Beginning" starts with us. Thank you Lord – You are so faithful!!!