Our Love Story—Ekklessia

The next day we found ourselves at Ekklessia amongst our peers, again trying to deny the reality of the growing affection between us. Or, at the very least trying to deny its existence in front of our friends.

Of course, about half of the group knew something was going on, but the other half was clueless. It was hard to be around Rob that Wednesday, without being noticeably near him. It was hard to share his time and attention, as I was getting quite used to having it all to myself! I enjoyed listening to him preach again that night. In fact, hearing him preach had been a highlight of each week for the last several months.

He spoke with such conviction, such confidence and such grace. He knew the Bible well and had a passion for instilling a love for God’s word in the hearts of other people too. He challenged each of us to grow in our relationship with God and with others. There wasn’t a day that went by that I interacted with him that I wasn’t challenged by his words.

He challenged me to be a better woman—long before I ever could have imagined that this incredible man of God would take an interest in me and my life. I was content to admire him from afar in the past, but now I longed to spend more time with him, learning and being challenged by our heartfelt conversations. As much as I loved to hear him preach, I loved his one-on-one attention even more. I loved the humility with which this man—mature in his faith—answered the unending heaps of questions from this new believer. He never made me feel stupid, or unworthy for my lack of biblical knowledge. Instead, he gently led me toward a better understanding of God and toward a deeper faith.

That night, as we sang songs of praise and worship I was sitting on the edge of one of the tables toward the back of the room. He was near the front of the room, and I looked in his direction. I leaned over to my friend, Ruthie and said, “I would love to take this guy home to meet my family!” She grinned and shook her head at me.

My family, I thought to myself. What would my family think about me bringing home a future pastor?  I tried to grab a hold of my thoughts; thinking about taking him home to meet my family was a bit premature considering it hadn’t even been a week since our first date! As much I tried to rein in my thoughts though, they just kept wandering toward him. I couldn’t help but reflect on our time together over the past several days, and I couldn’t help but pray for more time. For more dates, for more talks, for more of this man who was now standing before me opening up the word of God.

I went back and forth between listening intently to his words and being lost in the wonder of the fact that God was allowing us to spend such a large amount of time together. I was lost in the wonder of the fact that this man was spending time with me. Looking around the room at the many amazing ladies that stood in his presence I was in awe of the fact that he was choosing to spend time with me. I was probably the least logical choice of all of the ladies around. Except for the engaged and already married ones of course! 

After Ekklessia most of the group headed over to Shari’s restaurant where we went many Wednesday evenings. Rob was sitting with his back toward the aisle and I settled in a few seats away to his left. Sitting right next to him would have been too obvious. Besides, I had a good view from where I was sitting!

Our conversations once again turned toward relationships. After all, we were a bunch of (mostly single) college students. Most conversations seemed to head quickly in that direction. This particular conversation was a light-hearted one where Rob started boasting about being able to get just about anything with a wink and a nod. Just about the time he was bragging about betting that he could get a free refill on his hot cocoa by giving the waitress a wink and a nod, she came up right behind him. Red faced and clearly embarrassed, Rob didn’t know what to say. The rest of us busted up laughing and sure enough, the waitress brought him a refill on his hot cocoa.

Not only was he serious and challenging, but he was light-hearted and funny too. The more I got to know him the more I realized that he was everything I never realized I wanted in a man! I soaked up every minute I had in his presence and I was hopeful I wouldn’t have to wait long to get some more time alone with him.

Indeed, I wouldn’t have to wait long, as we secretly made plans to spend time together after dinner the next day. Now, if he would only give me some indication as to how he felt about our growing relationship, I could rest a little easier at night. I knew I was starting to lose my heart quickly to this man. I was eager to know if he was beginning to feel the same way too!

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