I’m standing by the open window–waiting, watching, wishing, wanting.
The blinds are drawn. The sunlight streams in. The grass is too tall.
Oh, well.
It has been a measly three days since I have last seen you, but, to me, it has felt like forever.
Here he comes up my walkway. A tall man, broad shoulders and that smile–favorite, familiar, falling, free.
My smile brightens as I watch you approach. He’s here, finally.
I open the door and wrap around my Jacob. Gosh, I’ve missed you. You hug me for a long time.
I almost forgot what it felt like to be held by my best friend–safe, secure, strong, supported.
You need to ask me an important question. “Kaitlyn, do you love me?”
Flashback. The first date. What an awesome night it was.
I walked into the front of Parkview Baptist Church. Oh, I was so nervous. I saw you there, in a suit, preparing to preach in front of the congregation.
I could see your heart–clear, concise, charming, Christ-like.
The latter, Christ-like, is the one characteristic I had been looking for all of my life. You had that.
John 13:14-15 says, “If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.”
I wanted someone to wash me spiritually–cleansing me, removing the stains, snags, and wrinkles–using the word of God, like it says in Ephesians 5.
All the dates that followed led to more realizations. You were kind. You were intelligent. You were comedic.
Next thing I know, you’re my boyfriend. Wow! Exciting times.
I longed for Christ and so did you. For months, we have pursued Christ wholeheartedly. Together, we have made this journey. We have written our story–beautiful and brilliant.
On July 23, Jacob asked me to be his wife.
“God, help me to love her everyday, like You loved the church. Let me cleanse and wash her in the word daily,” prayed Jacob, before he asked me to marry him last Thursday evening.
“Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up. Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; But how can one be warm alone? Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken,” is read in Ecclesiastes 4:9-12.
I am completely blessed. I’m not really sure how else to explain it. How do you put into words something that seems unreal, intangible?
To be able to continue our walk with God, together, as husband and wife, a lighthouse, is an honor, a privilege. And also, marrying your very best friend, your confidant, your encourager, wow.
Young girls, I want to encourage you to hold out for what you are looking for. If you want a Christian man, make sure your life reflects that of Christ. Be enriched. Swim in the word of God. A prudent wife, the bible says, is a gift from God. Be that woman. Prepare you heart.
I have waited for a man. I never settled. God made one just for me. He made me Jacob.
Matthew 7:24-29 says, “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.”
As I make this sacred promise to you, to walk with you through life, Jacob, I pray that we always keep God as the center of our relationship, the root of our relationship. Because if something is established on the rock, it will not sink.
(Kaitlyn Tolleson is the county reporter at the El Dorado News-Times. Email her at [email protected].)