Way back when, before life got the best of us and changed us both into the people we are today, we were that 16 year old girl and that 18 year old boy, both laughing at a friend who had somehow gotten gallons of gas in the street. It was a hot August day, the 27th of August, to be exact, in the year 1985 & it was utter chaos. That young girl had no reason to be there, parked at the convenience store that day, except it was a reason to get away from the desk where she was doing summer penitence for a party gone way wrong. She had no idea, when she begged her Momma to let her leave the shop that morning, that it would change her life forever...but it did. Today, she cannot help but remember that moment in time and the boy she met that day who ended up totally changing her life. In the instant his eyes met hers, and they smiled those first shy smiles at each other everything changed. They were so silly at first, the two of them... looking at one another, blushing furiously, being altogether too quiet, but the sizzle in the air was undeniable. She was so young then, as was he. They both remember that he bought her a coke that morning and as quickly as it all developed it seemed to end and they were left there thinking they would never see each other again. Their friend, James, the boy that spilled the gas in the street that fateful day was also the reason they did, in fact, see each other again. A short time later, she went to visit James as he worked on his SS Monte Carlo, a car that ran faster than anyone else's car she knew, and it just so happened that the boy she met, the boy who bought her a coke and had somehow never left her mind, was there helping James and that was the beginning for them. After that second meeting, they dated and laughed and loved. They, somehow, both knew that theirs was that once-in-a-lifetime love people talk about but sadly, at that young age, neither of them knew what to do with it.
Funny how we meet people in life that never leave us, no matter where time or life takes us. Funny how after years pass, you can hear a song, or hear a name, or see a certain place even in pictures and are instantly transported back to a time and place and to a person who is so permanently etched inside your mind and heart they cannot be erased. It is true when they say life is not about days, it is about moments. All those moments they shared together during those early days lived so strongly inside their heart's in a place that nothing could touch, nothing could change, nothing could shake...even if they are or did.
Circumstances came between them, the foolishness of being a kid tend to make people do things they may regret for the rest of their lives. Standing before him on his wedding day, which was the worst day of her life because it was not her he was marrying, she told him the words her heart would speak for the rest of her life, even though it would all be changed between them from that day forward and might never be again. They said goodbye that day, but not really, not ever.in their hearts Through the years that passed, they would see each other on occasion. Sometimes it was by accident, God has a way of putting people where they need to be, and sometimes it was carefully orchestrated, sometimes she just had to see him and so she took that chance and did. It wasn't uncommon for either of them to drive, late at night, by the other ones house, in the hopes of getting a glimpse of the one they loved so dearly. They would haunt their familiar stomping grounds, Nelson Park especially, because they could feel close to the other one there. Years and years passed but those feelings they carried inside for one another never died. Some people find a way into your heart and no matter what happens, those feelings never disappear. They were that for each other, that forever love. They have always been that for each other. When she told him that day she would wait for him, she meant it and she did. She carried in her a faith that would stand the test of time. In her heart, she believed their time would come, though she knew not when and, now, 25 years later, it has. In his heart, he carried the same seed of faith. Now, they will both tell you, without question, that Faith brings Miracles. This, their coming wedding, is a testament to the unquestionable endurance of Love, the undeniable strength of Faith, and the incredible realness of Miracles.
On August 30, 2011 the now grown woman searched and found a familiar name on Facebook. There he was and as her heart raced, she sent a friend request to that now grown man. It was instantaneous, that electricity between them, just as it had been the very first time they met, just as it had been every single time they saw one another, however briefly, all those years they spent apart. Though they were both involved in other relationships, it became clear, very quickly, to them both that God was telling them something in no uncertain terms, and He wasn't going to stop telling them until they listened. Listen they did. It is amazing how someone can walk back into your life after 25 years and it is like they were never gone. The love between them has grown immensely though neither one of them would have told you that they ever believed that was a possibility. The love they carried inside of them for each other was so immense from the very beginning they couldn't believe it could be bigger or stronger. They have been blessed, so very blessed and as the first day of the rest of their lives together approaches they cannot help but to believe that no two people have ever been so blessed, no two people have ever loved as much, or been so very, very lucky.
And this, friends and family, is OUR STORY...
Love,
Nan & Glenn
