It was a Saturday evening just before her shift at the local mall. As she stood in the Chick-fil-A line waiting to order her food she noticed a group of guys watching her in the next line. A bit uncomfortable, she tried to ignore their gawking stares.
After grabbing her food she spotted an old associate and stopped for a quick chat, then found a small table to herself.
Although she quickly forgot about awkward attention she was receiving moments before, little did she know there was a competition going between two of the guys at a near by table. One of them, quick on his feet, hopped over the booth from the inside where he was sitting to reach the girl first.
He confidently approached her table promptly asking, " Why are you sitting by yourself?"
A bit annoyed by his over confidence she replied, "No one to sit with I suppose."
"Mind if I have a seat?" he asks her.
But before she could respond, without hesitation, he presumptuously sits in the chair across from her.
Still uncomfortable by the attention and skeptical of his over confident nature she carefully entertains a conversation with him.
Boldly he asks, "Do you have a boyfriend?"
Not wanting to reveal the fact that she was not seriously dating someone at the time she vaguely answered with ,"sort of!"
Consistent with his quick responses, thus far, this was no exception.
"Well, do you sort of want another one?"
Maybe it was his creative persistence or just a temporary laps of judgment on her part, she agrees to give him her phone number. This wasn't typical for this girl at all. She was usually careful when it came to dating, getting to know them first before agreeing to a date. Her father was a police officer and particularly protective when it came to dating. This is why his next question was a bit surprising as he typed her number in his cellphone.
"This isn't the number to the sheriff's office is it?"
"Ummm, Noooo! But my dad happens to be a cop!"
Without any intimidation what so ever he asks, "Oh, Where?"
It turns out that his uncle worked in the same area and his brother was once a local police officer as well. This was just enough to slightly ease her nerves about the decision she had just made.
Though a bit comical, this story is nothing short of God's intervention to bring together a young carpenter named Randy MacGregor and a young college girl named Melissa Carmell.
I was 19 then; today we celebrate 19 years since that day! THAT IS HALF MY LIFETIME! So, for half my life he has had my whole heart. He is my beloved, my number 2 (Jesus is my #1 in case you are wondering), my best friend, my provider, and the amazing father of our children.
I am thankful that my man loves the Lord. I know that it is our detication to Him that keeps us together.
"Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken."
Ecclesiastes 4:12(NIV)