My childhood future husband

Meet: Brian Stevens.  He had an athletic build, brown hair and looked mostly like Jared Leto:

Jared Leto when I was in high school

Brian was someone I dreamed up when I was a high school-aged girl, the man I was going to marry.  He only ever existed as a figment of my imagination. 

Being dreamy high school girls, my best friend, Angela, and I decided we would predict the men we would marry and make a notebook of our future weddings.  I came across this notebook this past weekend as I was going through some old boxes from my childhood.  Ha! 

The first page of the notebook has the details of what our future husbands and lives would look like,
 including the number of children we'd have (Mr. Stevens and I would have three), while the next several sheet protectors held torn out bridal magazine pages of wedding and bridesmaid dresses we liked and hot honeymoon destinations of the time.  Apparently Jamaica was where Mr. Stevens and I would go.

I wish I could give more details I'd dreamed up, but I've since repacked the notebook -- you know, so my future children can have some good laughs later; meanwhile the box it's packed in collects attic dust.  Instead, I'll happily turn toward dreaming of my real, wonderful husband.

He does have brown hair (thankfully shorter than Jared's) and an athletic build.  We honeymooned in beautiful Belize and pray to be blessed with any number of children someday.  My wedding dress was much more beautiful than the big bows and puffy sleeves that adorned the dresses in my notebook, as were my bridesmaid dresses.  I still donned the gloves I'd always dreamed of, though. ;-) 

God blessed me beyond my wildest imagination when he chose Mark for me long ago.  No dreams of any boy-crazed teenage girl could have ever thought the God-fearing, strong, handsome and funny man I now call my husband would have been set aside for the silly, hopeful and sometimes awkward girl I was.  Mark got a real kick last night out of seeing my old yearbook pictures -- I think fourth through seventh grade provided the most laughs.  Gotta love those middle school years.

Thank you, Jesus, for having a plan, for knowing in what magnificent ways you wanted to bless me, for loving me so much as to save Mark for little old me.  We look forward with great hope to continuing to watch your plan unfold!

March 2008