I only wanted a 25cent refill!!!!!

About 15 years ago I decided to take a job for a local mall management company. I was very young but smart in the way of things worked in a mall. Not sure why...I never even hung out in a mall until then. It was a pretty cool job which lead me to many different roads in my life.

While working there I had many different experiences. I was right out of high school and wasn't a shy girl at all. Except when it came to one thing...meeting guys. I was awful at the dating scene. However, between age 16 and 19, I managed to go out on a lot of dates.

Life was like that up until one day I met this guy at Subway. I would frequently go down the escalators to get a drink refill for only 25cents. I wonder if he ever noticed that my drink started disappearing quicker and quicker??? He must have noticed, because soon, my drink refills were free.

I thought I would play hard to get with this one...but he did that right back. I was in shock. This was not the normal behavior of the guys who hang around malls. He refused to call me, and I told him it was polite for the gentleman to call the lady. He decided to cut his losses and went on his way. I stood speechless!

So one night, as I was closing up the mall with security, a very nice lady came over to me and brought me the most beautiful rose I think I had ever seen.
On the outside of the wrapping it had the name "Chad" and his phone number.
Sheesh....well....I guess I had to call him and thank him for the rose huh?

We soon went on our first date....then the next morning, he totaled his car.
A few months later, he came down with rocky montain spotted fever.
Then his car broken into at work, and so on and so on and so on.
6 months after we were dating, he asked me to
be his wife. (I'm sure he was waiting for that bolt of lighting the next morning) I couldn't think of a better question to be asked. And I made sure to give the appropriate answer.

Tonight we will go out and celebrate our 13th wedding anniversary. Not sure what we will do, but we are very spontaneous. It's really weird that over the course of 13 years, the timeline of events in our life has not been one of positive happenings. It's had lots of hurt, lots of damage, lots of sorrow.
But with that comes lots of healing, lots of resotration, and lots of joy.
The other day, I sat down and tried to list all the things we have in common. Sadly, I didn't come up with very many. I was so upset by this. I know we have a lot more than I came up with!!!!
However, our love for each other is one that I can't describe.
Have we had rough times? Yes! Have we had joy? Yes!!

On this earth there is nobody that I love more than Chad.
There is nobody's arm's I would rather be in.
There is nobody who loves me like he does!

This is the song that we had Tisha and Brishan sing at our wedding...and it still holds true today!
I asked the Lord for someone,
and I always knew that in God's time and in God's way
it would be someone like you.
All my hopes and all my dreams
were suddenly fulfilled
It's almost unbelievable
our love is in his will.

Only God could love you more,
for he gave me this love I have for you.
What a blessing to know He's your Lord,
For only God could love you more, than I do.

I'm tempted to be saying ,
that we met by chance
But God was there at every turn,
In every circumstance
To share this life God gave me
seems such a fearful task,
But every moment we have shared
is more than I could ask