Then Love Came Along...

This week I'm featuring Lisa & Lucho. Such a fun and sweet couple. Spending time with them I truly see unconditional love and true friendship lived out in their marriage. A young couple on the brink of celebrating their 1 year anniversary this Valentine's Day, Lisa & Lucho may be young but their Godly wisdom led them to make some very important decisions for their lives. I hope you enjoy Lisa's love story.

1. How long have you and Lucho been married?

Lucho and I will be married for a one year this Sunday, on Valentine's Day! :) February 14th.

2. How long did you date?

We were friends for three months and then dated for a year exactly before we got married.

3. How did you know he was the One?

Both Lucho and I told each other before we started to date that we were not going to date just to date, but we wanted to be heading somewhere. I knew that he had every quality of what I wanted in a husband. I did not want to date someone that I could not see myself married to. After a while of dating, we both talked about marriage, and I definitely could see myself with him for the rest of my life. I had been praying about him ever since I met him. I wanted to be sure before we started dating that this was God's will for me and I felt peace about dating him. While we were dating, I always was praying that if Lucho was not the man for me then he would close the doors, but everything was going so right and I could see that this was God's will.

4. What personality traits or characteristics that Lucho have that confirmed to you at that time that he was the One?

When I was younger my youth leader made us make a list of the characteristics we wanted in a husband. What we put down on that list she told us to never settle for anything less then what we deserved. I kept that list for a long time, but then lost it at one point. When I was dating Lucho I had found it again and everything that I had written on that list Lucho had... it was pretty cool to see that. Some traits were that he had to be a Christian, a man after God's own heart (I was not going to date anyone that was not a Christian), caring, sweet, loyal, thoughtful, funny, my best friend, someone who made me feel special, someone to challenge me and make me a better person, someone that was always there for me no matter what, and a man that was going to be a leader for both he and I. All of these characteristics and more describe Lucho, and God blessed me beyond anything that I could have even imagine, because it was God's will and not mine.

5. What was being single like for you pre-Lucho? Did you date a lot, or not so much, did you date for fun, or were you always on the search for the One?

I did not date a lot, but I did date guys with the mindset that they had to be Christian. I never really dated just for fun, but I was always wondering who I was going to marry and when I was going to meet him. I enjoyed being single at that time and I feel that while I was single I grew a lot with my walk with the Lord. I see now that I needed to be single for a while to be able to trust in the Lord with all my heart and to rely on him for everything. When I fully let go of everything and gave it to God shortly after that I met Lucho. I can see now how God's hand was in that whole process.

6. How do you feel God continues to confirm that Lucho is the One for you?

I feel that God confirms it in that every day I wake up knowing that I am blessed to have Lucho in my life, and that Lucho makes me the happiest that I could ever be. He brings out the best in me and always challenges me to do my best in everything I do and do it for the Lord. I have never been happier in my life than being married to him.

7. Any advice you would give young singles searching for the One?

PRAY! God will bring the man into your life when he feels that it is the right time for you. I know that it is hard to wait, but when you do wait on God, he will bring you someone that is the best for you. His timing is perfect. It may not be the timing you want it to be, but his timing is better than ours is. WAIT ON GOD, AND HE WILL BLESS YOU. :) Be comfortable with being single and stop worrying and searching for the One. When God wants you to meet him, you will. Relax, and wait on God.

8. Where did God fit into that journey for you?

I grew up in church and both sides of my family are Christians but I did not really give my heart to God until I was in middle school. Then after that, my relationship with God grew. This is when I realized what praying, reading the word, and trusting God really meant. Then God was always in the forefront everything I did. I have failed a time or two when thinking that my way was better than his, but soon after that I realized I was wrong and that I need him for everything. I still mess up, but God always brings me back to the right road again and forgives me with his loving grace. I would not be the women that I am today without God in my life.

God has seen Lucho and I through everything so far and we would not be where we are today without him. He is at the center of our relationship and Lucho and I cannot love each other without first loving God. So... "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understandings; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-6

Running the Race

Monday, February, 1, 2010

Throughout the last 7 years I have dabbled in the pastime of running, sometimes I'm consistent, sometimes I go weeks without lacing up the running shoes. Recently, I've returned to running more consistently (partly to lose the baby weight still hanging on lol). I have a running partner, Whitney, who is training with me for our first 15K this month. This morning after our run she said that when she runs alone she'll stop along the way but with a running partner she can go without stopping, that she's more aware of her breathing, and that essentially our partnership helps her to finish the run without having to stop. I feel the exact same way. Alone, I focus too much on myself and how tired I'm getting, but with her I concentrate on our pace, my breathing, and making sure she's ok so we can finish the run together.

Then I thought, what a great metaphor for relationships and it brought me back to my hubby. When we were first becoming friends our relationship deepened when he asked me to take up running with him. He encouraged me when I didn't think I could go any further, and made me believe in myself (little did I know then that our runs together would foreshadow our future relationship). I look at the other partnerships in my life (sisters, friends, colleagues) and I can see that the most successful ones are those where the other and I are supportive and encouraging. There is no envy or jealousy. There is no competition or illwill. Just a peace knowing we care about each other and want the best for the other. What a great way to look at a current dating relationship or to better examine a potential mate. Does your partner encourage and support you? Do they want you to succeed at whatever you're striving for? Are they a cheerleader for you? Do they "slow down their pace" so you can keep up, thus giving you the strength and endurance to keep going? Do they assist you in being successful?

There's a bible verse that talks about running a race (if you've never read the Bible, there's a bible verse about just about anything a person could go through in life!). Hebrews 12:1-2 says, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith."

I read that and I think how much value there is in remembering once again that we were made for a purpose (that purpose is NOT to just find the One!), an important one, how life is so much like a race and the only way to get through it is to strengthen our faith in Jesus and trust that as we turn our hearts and thoughts back to him, the rest of our lives will fall into place as God intended for them to be. That's a race worth running. Along the way, you'll hopefully encounter the One, but doing so is not the end of the race. Consider it the water station along the way which will give you a partner that will run with you and strengthen you, quenching that part of your life that thirsts, but there is so much more than just that one part. You have got to endure, don't stop running, don't give up, there's so much to experience along the way, make sure you do so with the right One!