My life has taken some very interesting twists and turns recently that have left me dumbfounded and a little surprised! I have been preparing to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. When I got my confirmation that, that was what I needed to do I became very excited to serve the Lord! I met with my bishop and then with my stake president and I started my mission papers all in the time frame of two-in-a-half weeks. I know that when we are following the promptings of the spirit things seem to work out. I attended my first Mission Prep course and I know that at this time in my life I am supposed to be preparing to serve the Lord.
I was re-united recently with a very good friend who has changed me. There are parts of me that have been hurt and knocked around in the past; I was beginning to think that I would never be able to recover because of the way I felt inside about myself and how I looked at others. The pre-conceived notions that I had about marriage and dating have been changed. My life has been greatly blessed because of who this friend is and who he represents.
David Owen and I met Fall 2006 while serving in leadership positions at Weber State University through our shared scholarship, WildCat Scholars. It had been two years since Dave and I talked when he bumped into me at the Weber State Institute Halloween Dance this October. The next day, he sent me a message on Facebook … and the rest is history.
Our first date comprised of us becoming members of the Polar Bear Club- We jumped into Pine View at 8:00 PM when the water was FrEeZiNg!-, we went to my apartment and colored in my Ninja Turtle Coloring book and then watched Flyboys. Our date started at 7 and didn’t end until 3AM because we were talking. In all my years of dating, I have never had a first date that went as smoothly as this one! I think that because we were friends before it was very easy to be myself and not feel like I had to put on a show. The conversation was good, the company was excellent and things went really well!
I have had an internal struggle raging inside of me since Dave walked back into my life. I have found myself falling very hard for him and the manner and pace in which things are going surprises me. I thought I was done giving guys a chance. My ability to trust was depleted and I told myself I would never let my feelings show for another individual… that has changed drastically. My plans for a mission have not changed. I am still pressing forward with that goal in mind, but I know that chances are my mission will be to marry Dave and start a family with him.
Dave leaves for Basic Training in Texas on November 24th. He is going into the Air National Guard and will graduate from tech school April 13th. He and I have decided to see what happens in April when he returns. If things are still great and we still feel good about things, we will begin the preparations to enter the temple together. I cannot tell you the feelings of elation and excitement this brings me. I have struggled in the past with finding guys who share my sense of humor, thought processes, ideas and goals. It is crazy how many times I have been explaining something to Dave and he totally knows what I am talking about. Usually people look at me like I am crazy when I say certain things… I love that I can talk to him and not have to explain everything to him!!
I love that I am myself when I am with him. I love spending time with him and getting to know him better. I love the strength he has within himself to prevail and stand up for what he believes in and does what he knows is right. He has a strong testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and knows the power of the Atonement. He has goals and is very ambitious in making sure those are accomplished. He is very respectful and knows his boundaries, as do I. We know what we need to do to get us where we want to someday be. We don’t want to mess that up for each other.
Life is very good. I can feel the promptings of the Spirit in my life. I know that things will work out how they are supposed to. I look forward to my future with enthusiasm and excitement!!