1+1=1

I think that one of the coolest things that Steph and I get to do together is work with the college ministry here at FRC. Her work schedule is a little tough right now so she can't go as often as she likes, but when she's around, it really adds value to what I do. At least it feels that way to me.
I can remember talking to her on the phone as we were discussing different observations we had about our group. The whole time I was wondering what it was that I managed to get right along the way that allowed me to be here now, sharing the joys of a mutual passion with someone that I'm going to spend the rest of my life with. This is one of my favorite examples of grace.

It's so different from what I expected it to be. Actually, that's not entirely accurate. I had no idea of what to expect.
I'd never been in a courtship before, never been in a relationship that had this much potential to glorify God in some serious ways, and I definitely had never been in a relationship with a woman who flat out told me that she was willing to submit to my leadership - which, if you're ignorant, sounds like a free pass, until you realize that the flip side of all that privilege is the responsibility to do the whole "love your wife as Christ loved the Church" deal ("With great power, comes great responsibility, Peter").

And it is a big deal. I told the guys in the small group this much, too. The day I figured out that growing up isn't something that just happens to you was one of the best things I ever learned, because it meant that I wasn't somehow excluded from manhood because I happen to be a knucklehead. It just meant that I had to learn a whole lot of discipline (I haven't watched cartoons in at least six months, for starters :)

It's a really big deal. I get to do something I love to do with someone I love to do it with, and we get to be a part of some seriously God-glorifying life change...I don't know that I've had many feelings like this one, this sense of rightness that is telling me that I'm on the right path, that yeah, it's a fight, but that by the grace of God I'm also a different person than I was a year ago. In this moment, it's tough for me to balance it well against all of the other really cool moments I get to experience on a weekly basis, so I don't think I'll be trying to make any comparisons right now.
For now, I'm just grateful that I've got Stephanie Sanchez, and that she's got me.