Never The Same Again!

The last couple of months were indeed a whirlwind. Mike’s work in San Diego was finished and the company he worked for was starting a new job closer to home. He refitted buildings with better fluorescent lights. I found a new job with an escrow/title company which was more local, better than driving downtown. I had never been happier. We were nearing our 4 month anniversary together… A lot had happened in the last four months. And of course knowing me... a lot more was in store! :)


One beautiful Saturday, Mike wanted to go on a picnic. We went to a sweet little park we had visited often. It was such a gorgeous day and little did I know this picnic had a HUGE surprise... Mike got down on one knee and proposed to me. Omg! He wanted to spend the rest of his life with me and asked me if I’d like to do the same. YES! Of course! I couldn’t believe it! We had only been together a few months and now we were engaged!

I must have been so surprised and overwhelmed by the event. Because in trying to write about it, I can’t seem to remember all the little details of that day! I remember the picnic, park and proposal, and that's it... Memory is a funny thing. I even asked Mike and that's all he could remember too, so I don't feel so bad! He might've had a few things on his mind that day. :)

You might be thinking, that it was too soon for us to get engaged. But I had peace about it. It just felt right, even though I never thought anyone would want to marry me. And I knew I shouldn't get married to someone that didn't share my faith, but I had peace that God was going to work that out. That peace I had comes from The Lord. The peace that passes all understanding.

Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.  Philippians 4:7 (NLT)

That is the exact peace that I had. I knew in my heart it was all going to be okay. I've learned to trust that peace over and over in my life. God has never failed me.

You know, I was on cloud nine, desperately trying to keep my feet on the ground. It's hard when you're crazy in love! We spent practically every free minute together. Mike had even started coming to church with me in the last couple of weeks. I never invited him. He asked ME, if he could come along! He started asking a lot of questions and we started reading the Bible together. He just hadn’t taken that step of committing his heart to The Lord yet. But I felt that he was so close. I wasn’t going to be pushy, this was something he needed to figure out on his own, but I could sense that God was working on his heart.

In the midst of all of this, I felt like I needed to get out of my mom’s apartment. It was just too much, plus no shocker here, that mom and I just had a hard time getting along. I had met a few girls as church that were looking for a roommate so we moved into a nice 3 bedroom house together. It was so nice not to have to deal with my mom and her boyfriend, the drinking, smoking, etc.

While packing up my things to move, I came across one of Mike’s possessions….a bong. It’s like a pipe and it was his favorite one. Remember, Mike really liked to smoke pot a lot. And yes, I had smoked with him before I committed my life to Christ. Anyway... he left it in my room, so I put it in my dresser drawer. I wasn't sure if he knew I had it, but he never asked for it. When I moved, I brought it with me and left it in the drawer. I figured it was his and if he wanted it he would ask for it.

Well, one Sunday night, there was a special speaker at church. It was a fantastic message! Near the end of the service, the special speaker asked if anyone wanted to ask Christ in their heart, to come down to the front. Mike got up! What?! Yes!!! I was in tears! I knew this day was coming and this was it! When Mike eventually came back with a huge smile and tears streaming down his face, I knew Mike was a changed man. He had asked Christ to forgive him of his sins and take over his life. He sat down and the first thing he told me, “You know that bong you have in your drawer? You can throw it away.” Wow! I didn’t even know he knew where it was! But he did. He also knew, right then, that God had completely taken away his addiction to marijuana. I know people say it isn’t addicting, but it was for him. He had been smoking pot since he was 12. But not anymore!

Mike wasn’t the same man. He was better in more ways than one! He was always a fun and funny guy, but there was now a deeper change in him. We began going to the college and career group that met at church. We started meeting more people and making new friends. Mike needed that, because all of his old party buddies didn’t believe the change in him was real and permanent. They told him that he’d be back ready to party soon enough. Well, he never did go ‘back’. He moved forward. We moved forward, and we’ve never looked back.

We set a wedding date for February 27th. It was about year away. I really wanted to make sure that this change in Mike was real. I felt it was, but there were too many guys that got ‘saved’ so they could get the girl, got married quickly and then went right back to their 'old ways' and ended up in divorce. I didn’t want that and neither did he. We started pre-marriage counseling and scheduled to announce our engagement at church.

The Sunday we were going to announce our engagement was a big day for me. My mom came to church to celebrate with us. Our college and career pastor was preaching that Sunday, it was an incredible service. What made it even more incredible was that at the end, he gave an invitation to accept Christ as your Savior.  This pastor was bold for Christ, he must have felt the power of God working on my mom. He actually walked off the platform and down the aisle to my mother. He asked my mom if she was ready to accept Christ…. she looked up and said yes, he took her hand and lead her to the front and prayed with her. I couldn’t believe this was happening… My mom! I knew my grandma had been praying for 20 years for her to return to Christ and it was happening right before my eyes! God is in the business of restoring and renewing lives. My mom was changed that day, and she was never the same again.

This is powerful stuff here!

In reading over this, editing and re-checking, I am so incredibly thankful for the saving power of Jesus Christ. My life was changed. Mike’s life was changed. My mother’s life was changed. All changed for good. That didn’t mean that we wouldn’t go through hard times, we have and we will. It means we are now NEVER alone. We NEVER have to fear because Christ… saves us, holds us, loves us, and continues to change us.

Good stuff here!

Next up… wedding bells!

If you want to catch up on all of the other chapters of My Life Story you can read them below.

A Child of the 60s &70s
Life in Hawaii ~ Vacation Turned Staycation
The Jr. High Years ~The Good, Bad and The Ugly
High School ~ Flags, Driving and A Boyfriend
Trying To Figure Out Life
A Car Breakdown Can Be A Good Thing
A Whirlwind Romance And A Change Of Heart

Thanks for reading!
Blessings,