This part was written by Jenn about how her relationship with Paz began. I figured I can't write it any better so I stole, borrowed without permission or gleeped her words from FaceBook.
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| Height difference is NOT an optical illusion |
No, this isn’t necessarily about the Olympics, although the
synchronized diving is a good metaphor for my life right now. God has
been doing an amazing work the past couple weeks (make that the past few
years), and I’m still in awe of all that he has done, in his good
timing.
Back in January, my family and I were going
through a hard time. I had set up a meeting with my pastor Jason to talk
about it, and our discussion eventually led to my struggles with
singleness. He encouraged me to take the next six months and pray boldly
for a husband. Not that we should put timelines on God, but sometimes
it’s helpful to have a focused amount of time and believe that God can
work, if he chooses. So I spent the next six months praying harder than I
ever had before that God would interrupt my life with the possibility
of a relationship.
The second week of July, a friend posted a picture of her handsome
brother on Facebook. He was a mutual friend of mine that I hadn’t
talked to in a few years. I flipped over to his Facebook page, saw that
he was going to seminary in Dallas, and just felt God pressing on my
heart to pray for him. I spent the rest of the day doing just that, and
at the end of the day, felt like I needed to message him to encourage
him. God kept pressing it on my heart, so I plucked up the courage and
sent him a brief message of encouragement. I knew this would have been
something I would have done for any guy friend in my life, so I didn’t
feel like it was too out-of-the-ordinary for me.
The next
day I received a response, telling me that he was having a terrible day
and my message greatly encouraged him. We messaged back and forth, and
eventually moved to texting, and continued talking through the weekend
and into the next week. I found out that not only did he want to be a
pastor, but he wanted to be a church-planting pastor. God had already
been building in my heart the desire for church-planting months before,
and this commonality could not be ignored in my mind. He asked me if I’d
be willing to have a Skype date, and I agreed. I wasn’t sure what this
would bring, but I knew that God was doing something, and I
couldn’t ignore the fact that I liked this guy after our many
conversations thus far. The biggest thing that struck me was our shared
passion for God and his word; it felt like iron-sharpening-iron every
time we interacted, and it was becoming a greater and greater blessing
to talk to this godly guy.
On Tuesday, 17 July 2012, after a 5 hour Skype conversation, Paz Galusha-Luna
asked me to begin pursuing a relationship with him, and I said yes. I
didn’t realize until a week later that not only was it about six months
from when I started praying, but it was precisely down to the day; I looked back in my journal, and in clear letters read “17 January 2012”
for when I started praying for God to bring me someone in the next six
months. I’m still in awe of how God did this. For some reason, God has
chosen to move quickly in bringing Paz and me together and in the
progression of our dating relationship. It is only by the hand of God
that he has brought us together, nearly four years after we met at a
group lunch at Joe’s Farm Grill after church in October 2008, and he
continues to lead our steps as we seek him in prayer.
As I
watched the synchronized diving competition in the Olympics, I realized
that it’s similar to how I feel about this new relationship. Paz and I
are individual people who have stepped up to the diving board. We are
walking in synch, and now we’ve taken that big dive off the edge. Together.
There are still a lot of unknowns. It feels like I am still in midair, but I know that
if I look to my side, there is Paz, who has taken the leap with me, and
that is a good feeling indeed.
Paz moved back to Arizona the first of September to be close to Jenn. There was a medical bump in the road that he and Jenn would need to endure first. This was something that could make or break their relationship. I feel that they are much stronger as a couple having gone thru this together. Paz is on the road to recovery and has made huge strides towards his health. This is something that Jenn assailed at and became just like her mother in the caregiver role of things. Wonder if somehow wheat we endured with Heather was to give her the strength to take on her new role as caregiver.
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| Newly engaged |
This is to announce that Paz finally got down on one knee and asked Jenn to marry him on Friday November 2, 2012. The wedding will be February 9, 2013. We are very pleased to have made huge strides int he planning area of the wedding.
Please join me in congratulating Jenn and Paz on their engagement...
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| Their smiles say it all... |
