Christy and Sam: The Love Story - Part 3

Spoiler Alert! We get married. ;)

If you haven't read Part 1 and Part 2 you might want to click on those and read through them real quick so the rest of this post makes sense. Now, without further ado, here is conclusion of our love story.

We were faced with a dilemma 

Once we arrived back at Tejas after our heartfelt highway chat, one of us said, "What now?" "How about we go somewhere and figure it out?" We headed to the dining hall because no one was there and it was a public place. I explained to Sam that the reason I was hesitant to admit my feelings to him was because I hadn't let myself consider him as more than a friend. Mostly because I was trying not to focus on guys at that point and also because I was afraid of another failed relationship. I really valued his friendship and didn't want to lose it. He understood, but he felt it was worth the risk to figure it out. We also both believed in dating with the intention of it leading marriage. We weren't doing it just for fun. I remember calling and asking my dad for advise, because I think it's important for dads to protect their daughter's from bad relationships if they can. My dad asked me, "Do you really like him?" I said, "Yes, I do." He said, "Then you owe it to yourself and to him to see where it goes." 

Intern buddies! This was at a Camp wedding we went to together.

Here was the issue. Camp Tejas didn't allow relationships between interns or summer staff and since I was going to be a full time employee soon and Sam was planning to work the summer and probably the next internship, we were in quite the pickle. We both saw ourselves working at Tejas for the foreseeable future, but we both wanted a relationship with each other to be in that future too. We went to our boss the next day to ask for permission to date. He asked us to put our relationship on hold until after the summer. Ok... So it's the beginning of March and the summer isn't over until the middle of August. That's almost half a year! But we agreed to wait because the only options given to us were waiting until August or one of us had to stop working at Tejas right then. Our boss did say he didn't want to get in the way of us still getting to know each other. I don't really like to talk about all the dissension and disagreements that happened because of this. Just know there was a lot of it between us and the leadership at Tejas. 

Sam found this sticky note and put in on my door for me to find.
He definitely lifted my spirits on a difficult day.

In our defense I don't think "put it on hold" was ever really explained. (I guess we should have asked for clarification.) What were we supposed to do? Stop liking each other? Impossible. Stop talking to each other? That could never work.  We tried not to talk or even be around to each other very much in public through the summer(note how there aren't any pictures of us together in this segment of the post) and of course we didn't go on dates or anything. We did know we were supposed to keep the fact that we liked each other a secret. The problem with that was we had already told a few of our close friends who were planning on working the summer before we knew we weren't supposed to tell anyone. So it couldn't be a complete secret already. Also, a couple of people who knew us both from previous summers asked us straight out about it and I wasn't going to lie to them.

Basically it was doomed before it even began. It all happened for a reason because I had recently said to a co-worker, "As long as God doesn't do something crazy, I plan to be here for the next 5 years." God obviously had other plans for us and if everything hadn't happened in the bond breaking way it did I wasn't going to leave Tejas anytime soon. We were not innocent, we held hands and gave a hugs a couple times in secret, but we were never alone together more than a couple of minutes. We could have handled it better, but I feel like there was a much better way for the Tejas leadership to have handled it too. All has since been forgiven and, although obviously not forgotten, is behind us and doesn't harbor any ill feelings. I mean our old boss did the inspection of the first home Sam and I bought together.)

I'm grateful for flowers and forgiveness.
(a walk I took through the appropriately named Tejas Meadows)

At the very end of June, the Tejas leadership brought us into the office and told us it wasn't working out. Too many people were finding out and they couldn't allow us both to continue to work there if we saw a future with our relationship. They gave us a day to decide what we wanted to do. I remember going back to my apartment(located on the camp) and screaming, falling on the groud and crying the hardest I can ever remember crying. I kept asking God, "why?!". Sure, call me dramatic, but it felt like such a failure, like my little world was falling apart. I either had to give up Sam or Tejas. The choice was clear to both of us. Our relationship was more important than being at Tejas. It doesn't mean it wasn't hard for me to give it up. I loved working at Tejas with all my heart.

We both agreed that Sam should be the one to leave Tejas at that point, in the middle of the summer camp season, and I would finish out my full time duties for the summer and take my leave as soon as the summer was over. The next question was, "Where do we go?" I called my parents and asked if Sam could live with them until we figured things out. They said yes! (Thank you sooo much Mom and Dad!)

The next day the summer camp staff had a schedule meeting like we would always do before the new set of campers come in. At the end of the meeting Sam and I stood at the front and Sam told everyone he was leaving because, "Me and this little lady have been become pretty close and it has become too difficult for us to keep our relationship on hold any longer. So we think it's best for us and the camp that I leave now." I remember someone shouting, "Where's the camera??" because the staff would sometimes do "acts" during summer camp for our end of the year slideshow and he thought it was for that. We said, "Nope this is real." Pretty much the people we had already told were the only ones that had suspected us at all. We were/are a very unlikely couple. Most people have a hard time understanding why we are together. (maybe this story has shed some light on that point!) Well, like I've already said, opposites attract right? I'd like to add that opposites that have the same goals and values in life don't only attract, but also stay attached and can't be pulled apart. That's what we are.

First picture as a couple

We fell in love

Through all of the discord Sam and I grew closer. We found that through the rough patches we could rely on each other and when everything was changing around us we were solid ground for each other. While Sam and I were still working at the camp we exchanged text messages during our off time and talked only when necessary during work. Once Sam left we got to talk almost every night on the phone. It was so wonderful to have it all in the open! I could talk about him and to him! I've heard some people in secret relationships feel the attraction of the relationship wears off once it's in the open. Definitely the opposite for us. It finally felt right. 

I went home to visit him a few times before the summer was over and each time I was more convinced I wanted to marry him. I had told him that I didn't want him to tell me he loved me until he could back it up with a commitment because I felt like saying I love you was a very serious thing and I didn't want it to lose its meaning. I also told him I didn't want him to kiss me until we were engaged. On August 7th 2010, I was home because I was a bridesmaid in one of my best friend's wedding. That night we watched some Lost (we had made a deal back when we were interns that if I watched Lost he would watch the 5 hour Pride and Prejudice with me. :D) and before I headed back Sam was being all jittery and nervous again. He said something like, "I feel like I need to tell you something, but I'm not sure you want to hear it yet." I said, "Go ahead." He said, "I love you." And of course, I said, "I love you too!" Because saying I love you was such a big deal to us, it was like a pre-engagement for us.

The night he said "I love you."

I went back to camp and finished out my last week and a half of working at Camp Tejas. I moved back to my parent's house(Sam and I were in different rooms!). Finally getting to be in the same place and free to be in a relationship was so nice! We kept getting to know each other. We talked about just about everything, our thoughts about the world, where we wanted to live, if/when we wanted kids and if we would want to home school, our dream jobs, what was most important in our lives and so on and so forth. We found that the most important thing to both of us was to put God first and to do His will.

Everything was lining up. It was becoming evident to both of us where this relationship was heading. 

We got engaged

Fun engagement shoot picture. Not our actual engagement.
Not even close to a reenactment either. ;)

There wasn't a big conversation or declaration of love, but sometime in September of 2010 we started talking about getting married and if there was anything holding us back. Of course we both still needed jobs and we wouldn't get married while we were living in my parent's house. But we thought there wasn't any reason why we couldn't get engaged now. I told Sam he had to ask my dad for permission to marry me. I know, very old fashioned, but I love it. 

We were upstairs in my room while we were talking about this. So Sam said, "Ok." Then he walked down stairs and asked my dad if he could marry me and my dad said, "If she's ok with it then I'm ok with it, but you have to get a job before you get engaged." We felt like that was a reasonable request. I mean every good father wants his daughter to be taken care of and provided for.

So Sam kept looking for a job for the next couple of weeks. On September 25, 2010, a day before my 22nd birthday, Sam got a job at Best Buy. (It wasn't the ideal job, but it was a start!) As soon as Sam found out he took me upstairs, got a little box out of his drawer and came over to me and said, "So are we getting married or what?" I laughed and said, "YES!" Then he kissed me to seal the deal. It was our first kiss not only with each other but with anyone. It was special. Our engagement wasn't a big production, it was simple and real and I think that represents us as a couple pretty well. It was perfect.

So us.

3 months later Sam moved in to our apartment and a month after that, on January 22, 2011 we got married, I moved in and we began our life together.

YAY We're Married!!

5 years later, even with all of life's challenges, we're still happily married and have added 2 kids to our family so far. Now, our love story isn't really finished yet since we are falling more in love with each other with each passing year. I would say every passing day, but that's not the truth. The truth is, I can't tell that I love him more day to day, but each year I look back and realize I love, appreciate and respect him more than I did the year before. God is so good. I am so grateful that he lead us to each other. Honestly, I couldn't imagine my life without Sam in it.

It's amazing how love grows!

Ephesians 5:22-33

Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.