Part 4 & 5: Meet the Father & My Hopes

We're doing the how J met A thing here. If you missed Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 catch up you fool!:)


We loaded my car with the boards to go home and I was probably the biggest prude ever, trying to subtly peal my wetsuit off. We got in the car and Jason started suggesting other things we could do...maybe get some breakfast? Get some pastries? "Um, no, I have some other things to do. You know...like...er." Actually, I have no idea what I said but it ended with me dropping Jason off at home. Adios amigo.

Done.

Alright.

Move on.

But no.

It didn't end there. I saw Jason at church since I was the Youth Intern and Jason had also officially come on as staff. Every Wed. and Sun. I would see him. Some how along the way it came out that my dad was in the process of building a house. He mentioned quite a few times that he was interested in meeting my parents. hmmm. Let me think. NO! The last thing I wanted was him getting an "in" with my family. I didn't want them to like him, I didn't want him to get to know them. Just wasn't having it.

So, I avoided introducing him (we all went to the same church)...over and over again there was some excuse, "Oh, I think they've left already." "Oh, I haven't seen them today." One Sunday though I was upstairs on the balcony talking to a friend. I was laughing and looking around when I saw my Dad in the corner of my eye. Something else suddenly caught my eye. I saw Jason...on a B-Line for my pa. I panicked and realized...NO! He's going to introduce HIMSELF. I quickly said good-bye to my friend and made a desperate attempt to intercept this meeting. Desperate but fruitless. By the time I made it to them I heard my Dad say, "Definitely, you should come out and help me on the house. I could use an extra hand..."

Seriously?

Who is this guy?

*******

So, Jason began going up to the wild, wild west...Creston...to help my Dad build his house. There are so many stories that go with this that would take a year to tell. You see, Jason is a perfectionist, my Dad is...not so much. I'm much more like my Dad (except baking. I strive for perfection in baking for whatever reason). I'm sure it was quite the interesting ambiance up there.

I saw that Jason liked me. Of course. He was forward, he would tell me how he felt (including something that he said to me in Italian over the phone...which when he translated it went on about my beauty and character. Romantic right? Someone saying something poetically in Italian about their affection for you? No, at the time, not to me. I totally got mad and flustered and ended the conversation abruptly) He was even willing to do manual labor for my parents in order to get to know them and win me over. He was dedicated.

I on the other hand. I hadn't been won.

There were a lot of ideas I had about dating and relationships. For one, I wouldn't have just any guy. I had hopes and dreams for life. I had things that I felt like the Lord was calling me too. I wasn't sure if I was willing to give it up for a guy. If I was going to date someone I knew it had to be a man who absolutely loved the Lord and could LEAD me. Leadership. What a role. What a trait that's so hard to find. And I don't mean that the guy has to be in front of a group leading. I wanted a quiet, humble man, who loved the Lord, would be willing to love me...love me so much that he would rebuke me when I needed it, hug me when I needed it, listen when I needed it. I wasn't going to settle. No way. I would wait my whole life if I had to...or never get married. And honestly, never getting married was not a scary thing for me. Not at all. I was actually pretty much determined to NOT get married until I was about 19 or 20. Once I entered college it became more of a "Well, whatever happens, happens." On top of all of this...I was hoping desperately to be admitted into Moody Bible College.

So, where did Jason fit in all this? Was he that guy I wanted? What about Moody? What if I got in? Really, what are the chances that it would work out long distance when I'm really not even convinced that it's worth trying for here in the same city?

I had so many thoughts and questions that were completely and absolutely unanswered.