Like a Leap Year

Wow, it feels like so much was crammed into short little February this year. There was a lot going on, a lot of reflection, a lot of emotions, but also a lot of praises. So you'll better understand, let me explain what was happenin' this time last year and what occurred in the months to follow. In short, God stretched me a lot in 2010. I feel like He set me on a steep learning curve and I was suddenly stumbling, tripping, and falling forwards as I was confronted with leaps and bounds of change and uncertainty--which scared me a lot.

January 2010 left me wondering...This really great guy drove all the way across the country so we could hang out for a week, after which I had to leave for school. We'd crossed paths very briefly during the summer of '09, but then we'd gone separate ways again. Unexpectedly, despite the distance, we became very good friends over the next six to seven months. I liked him a lot and really hoped that he felt the same way about me. When he came to visit, we finally had the chance to talk about our relationship. But we didn't know what we should do 'cause we were still gonna be so many miles apart. And so we said goodbye and I got on a plane and flew south, wondering...

So, February 2010, I began my final semester of college. Then God surprised me by bringing him to me again! We got to hang out for a weekend and...we made it official: he became my boyfriend. But then we were thousands of miles apart for another couple weeks. After that, we spent about five weeks in the same general area. (Only about a 1.5 hr drive apart. Whoohoo! Making progress! Haha.) We got to see each other one or two afternoons or evenings a week. In the meantime, he fixed his friends' car and visited people and I tried to keep up with school. He met some of my friends and I met some of his. It was exciting having a boyfriend but also stressful, in its own way, because it was all so new to me. We finally got about four full, consecutive days to hang out when I had Easter Break. That was really good and relaxing. And then, once again, we had to go long-distance. He moved up here to find a job and I continued school. We were separated for two whole months.

But, finally, I graduated and moved here (where my family is). And since June 2010 we've actually been living in the same town, able to see each other every day. It was also in June that God provided him with a good, full-time job. But I remained jobless for a very long time and it was hard. Some earlier blog posts of mine express some of what I was wrestling with and feeling during that time. Through all my fear and confusion, my boyfriend was incredibly understanding and supportive of me and our relationship grew and strengthened.

December 2010 was pretty crazy, to say the least. My boyfriend's achilles tendon randomly ruptured! He had surgery, two weeks of recovery, and then we headed off to spend Christmas with his parents in Germany (which had been planned for a long time). Travel was difficult. He was on crutches and his leg was swelling, I was trying to recover from a bad cold virus, we had jetlag, and we were stuck in the Paris airport all day and had to overnight 'cause our flight was canceled due to weather. Needless to say, it was a fairly stressful month. But, in the end, it was really great meeting his parents and spending time with them and I'm glad we went. God took care of us.

After returning, he began physical therapy for his leg. That and his job kept him pretty busy in January. I was still without work, which was pretty discouraging at times. And I think we were both still feeling the lingering effects of December's stress. But we got to hang out with a lot of friends in January, which was cool. And his physical therapy is over now and his leg is doing well, praise God.

So, as this February 2011 rolled around, we celebrated our one-year anniversary, thanking God for bringing us together and sustaining us through so much. We've seen that He's been so faithful to us and He's been teaching us so much. We know that our relationship is a gift from Him.

And, suddenly, two days after our anniversary, I saw a part-time job posting that interested me. I applied the next day, had an interview two days later and a follow-up interview four days after that. I got the job and started training the next day. It's amazing how God works! After months of searching and not knowing what to do, He gave me this job in about a week. It all happened so fast that I'm still trying to take it all in and realize that, yes, I do have a job again. I had to learn and memorize a lot of information in a short amount of time, but so far it's going well.

So, that, my friends, is a condensed version that explains some of what's been going on in my life. But, although it's not a complete picture, hopefully it gave you an idea. And even though I still have a lot of unanswered questions as to what I'm supposed to do with my life (or, at least, what to do next), I can see that God has been working in me through all of this (growing me). And He is providing for me and I praise Him.