Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow: My Courtship Story: In the Beginning....

Another reason I started this blog was to give me a place to share my courtship story. It is really quite long, so I will be giving it in several installments. Enjoy!

A New Chapter

“Bekah, do you think you'll marry someone from CMI?”

I paused momentarily from my attempt to stuff a set of hot pink towels into my already overflowing suitcase. I looked toward the couch where my 9 year old brother was perched, observing my progress.

“I don't know. I haven't even been there before, I don't know who I'll meet yet.”

“Well, what if you meet someone that you love?”

“I suppose that if God brought the right person along, then I would marry him, but I really don't think that is going to happen.”

I was 19 years old and just entering a new phase in my life. I had never been away from home for longer than a couple of weeks, but here I was, getting ready to leave for Children's Ministries Institute to pursue my passion for children's ministry.

My little brother wasn't the first person to suggest that perhaps I would meet “someone special” at CMI. My mom's friend excitedly bubbled about how Christian colleges and ministry trainings were just the perfect kind of places to meet your future spouse. Kind ladies from my church wished me well and hinted at their hope that I would meet “the one” while I was gone.

Truth be told, the thought had crossed my mind more than once. After all, pretty much all of the guys I knew had, one by one, been crossed off the list of possibilities. CMI would be the perfect opportunity to meet other people my own age who were interested in children's ministry just like I was.

Even though I was aware of the possibility and secretly hoped that maybe I would meet my future husband at CMI, I honestly didn't think it would really happen. Afterall, I was only 19. I probably still had a long ways to go before God would bring my future husband into my life. (I can just imagine God chuckling at this point)

First impressions

I vividly remember the day I left for CMI. I remember being filled with a great sense of adventure as my friend Bethany and I, along with our moms, set out on the 8 hour trip to Child Evangelism Fellowship's headquarters in Warrenton, MO. I couldn't wait to find out what the next three months would hold! What would it be like to be out on my own? It was all so exciting!

We were among the first students to arrive at CMI. Our moms stayed around long enough to help us check in and unpack our stuff and then we said goodbye. We had only already met a few of the other girls and ladies on our hall, but most everybody was still busy unpacking or resting from their trips. Bethany and I decided to go check out the student lounge and work on some paperwork for orientation.

That is where it happened. The infamous first meeting. We were sitting in the lounge filling out paperwork, when suddenly the door was flung open and a tall guy with glasses burst in, talking a mile a minute! He was excitedly talking about how glad he was to be there and how glad he was to meet other students and how glad he was that we had also discovered the lounge, etc. Bethany and I just sort of stared at him in dumbfounded astonishment. It's a good thing we were speechless because we wouldn't have been able to get a word in edgewise anyway! Then as suddenly as he had burst in, he was gone again. As soon as Bethany was able to regain control of her senses she sputtered, “Who was that idiot?” I just laughed and said something about how I was probably going to end up being friends with that guy. And that is how I first met Rohn (like Ron, only spelled cooler).

The friendship

During the very first few days when everyone was getting to know their fellow students, there was a group of us that just sort of “clicked”. I guess maybe it was because we were all pretty close in age, but anyway, we started hanging out and doing things together. My friendship with Rohn began through those times of hanging out as a group.

It didn't take long before Rohn and I started to discover that we had a lot in common. We are both eldest children from large families, we were both homeschooled, and both of our families share many similar values and beliefs. As time went on, we began to spend more and more time together, talking about many different things. We even discussed many controversial topics and found ourselves agreeing on them! We also discovered that neither of us had ever had a boyfriend or girlfriend before and both of us were committed to waiting for God's choice in a spouse.

Our friendship grew closer and closer as the weeks went by. We spent time together taking walks, canoeing, or just sitting and talking about things. We also studied together and Rohn helped me fix my computer and taught me how to create powerpoint. We talked about our lives and encouraged and prayed for each other.

Despite the fact that we were fast becoming best friends, and I loved him like a brother, there was one fact that I was convinced of- I was never going to marry Rohn. Never. We even promised each other that we would never get married. Of course, our friendship aroused all of the curiosity and teasing that is to be expected when two young people of opposite genders become good friends. I was told time and again that Rohn was perfect for me and that I would end up marrying him someday, but I held fast in my resistance. Afterall, I wasn't attracted to him, he was younger than me (a whole 8 months), I found his mannerisms kinda quirky and besides, it just WOULDN'T WORK!

And then things changed.......

Before I knew it, my time at CMI was drawing to a close and we were down to the last few weeks. Unbeknownst to me at the time, God had begun to work in Rohn's heart and awaken an interest in me. At first he did not want to acknowledge what was going on because he had always agreed with me that there was no possibility of ever being more than friends. Two weeks before the end of CMI, Rohn went home to visit his family. While he was away, he finally began to realize what was going on in his heart and admit to himself that he was interested in me. I think at that point, God also began nudging him and starting to open his eyes to the fact that maybe, just maybe there was something more in store for our relationship.