dreams really do come true!

To most, this appears to be nothing more than a photo of my husband and myself... a little blurry  perhaps, but not bad if you can lose sight of that.  To me, this photo captures a moment in time where my very dreams since I was a young girl are being coming true.  Let me tell you about it.  (Warning:  If you're going to read, you may want to grab a cup of coffee or something.  It's going to be long!)

If you've known me for a while, you may know that deep in my heart I have always wanted to be a wife and mom that loved Jesus with all she was and lived like it.  I wanted to be very involved in church and ministry.  I love coming alongside others to encourage or worship.

When I first got to know Mike, it was at a Bible Study that he was leading.  His study was from 1 John 1.  I may have sat through preaching all my life and heard countless sermons and even some devotions from that passage, but never had I heard it with the clarity and conviction that he gave that day.  It stuck with me every day... how we have to keep the window of our souls clean to let God's light shine through us... and when we let the window get clouded with sin instead, we hide God's light.  There was more to it, but the point I am making was that the Bible Study made a significant impact on me.  

But it wasn't just the Bible Study I couldn't stop thinking about, it was the guy that gave it!  I didn't know guys like him existed anymore! I mean he was a LOT of fun and rather crazy to be honest, but he lived for God too.  What?! 

Well, you likely know our story from there, but if you want to read about it, you can here. 

I remember one Sunday afternoon when Mike and I were dating.  I had been struggling to resolve some things in my mind.  See, at one point just several years earlier, I thought that God may be leading me into full time service - as in, not working a full time job in the everyday professional world, but to be working everyday in the church world.  Life happened though, and God had not brought me to that point.  Yet, that desire was still there, and I knew that soon I would be making a rather large decision in my life - who I was going to marry!

Mike and I had talked about serving God.  I had found out that years earlier (about the same time that I began to sense the call of God on my life), he had surrendered to preach.  Yet, as life went along, he did not feel that was what he was supposed to do anymore.  When he told me this, my heart skipped a beat, and I think even in that moment I knew that God was going to do much more with our story.

Yet as I approached the time where I knew the question was going to come about marriage, I needed to have peace in my heart that I was absolutely, without a doubt, taking the correct path in life.  I will not bore you with all of those details, but I can tell you that as I prayed and read the Word that Sunday, God gave me 100% assurance and peace that if Mike were to ask me to marry him, my answer to him should be yes.

The time came for Mike to talk to my dad about marriage... and my dad's answer to him was, "I always knew that Anna was supposed to marry a preacher, and that's how we raised her.  But, I've been praying about it, and God just has given me peace that she's supposed to marry you.  I really don't understand it, but yes."

Well to make a long story short, Mike and I were married with our parents blessing.  The first year and a half of our marriage have not been easy.  Many struggles have come our way, but we have done our best to keep our eyes on Jesus and have faith when we didn't feel like it.  My health has proven to be a huge struggle.  Mike was not happy with his job even when he had the opportunity to follow his dream at a golf course!  All of this was God working.  Through some messages on Jonah from our Pastor and many, many other little things, my husband (re)surrendered to preach and serve the LORD full-time with his life.

Now, about that photo you see up there... well, the mission is one of my very favorite places to be.  I served there on Saturday nights for about 5 years in a row faithfully - while I was still in college, before I moved to California and after, and even before I met my husband.

But Thursday night found us driving to the mission, and as we were about five minutes away, my heart just leaped in anticipation and happiness as it felt like for the first time in forever, I was finally just about "home." Everything in my life had been leading to this moment, and there we were.

So before we ever jumped out of the car to walk into the mission, I had to capture this photo - the beginning of my "home".  Mike preached a powerful message on salvation. He led the song service as I played the piano.  And I sang a couple of the guys favorite songs.

I don't really know how to wrap up this story... because it is really just the beginning.

But maybe the best way is to end with a beginning... the lyrics to the song that was sung directly before we said our marriage vows.

Bless the Lord oh my soul

Oh my soul

Worship His Holy name

Sing like never before

Oh my soul

I'll worship Your Holy name

The sun comes up

It's a new day dawning

It's time to sing Your song again

Whatever may pass

And whatever lies before me

Let me be singing

When the evening comes

Bless the Lord oh my soul

Oh my soul

Worship His Holy name

Sing like never before

Oh my soul

I'll worship Your Holy name

You're rich in love

And You're slow to anger

Your name is great

And Your heart is kind

For all Your goodness

I will keep on singing

Ten thousand reasons

For my heart to find

Bless the Lord oh my soul

Oh my soul

Worship His Holy name

Sing like never before

Oh my soul

I'll worship Your Holy name

Bless You Lord

And on that day

When my strength is failing

The end draws near

And my time has come

Still my soul will

Sing Your praise unending

Ten thousand years

And then forevermore

Forevermore

Bless the Lord oh my soul

Oh my soul

Worship His Holy name

Sing like never before

Oh my soul

I'll worship Your Holy name