A Redeeming Love

I think that every story of romance is worth telling. As I recall my own, I myself am amazed at the woven tapestry of love, heartbreak, tough lessons learned and bliss.

I hope you’ll join me every Friday this Summer for my Summer Romance Series:

A Redeeming Love

Chapter 2

Time spent with Mr. M was lots of fun for me.  I’m not sure what I liked more – the fact that so many girls were interested in him and I was the one he chose to spend time with,  or the fact that he was a gentleman and really great company.

I confess that my heart didn’t really leap out of my chest when I was with him, but on paper he was so wonderful in many ways that I continued spending time with him to see if feelings would develop.  As my senior year was wrapping up I had plans to celebrate graduation with a European trip with some girl friends that would end with a cooking school in France with my mother.  Mr. M would be studying in Florence for the summer, so somewhere in the middle, I would meet up with him in Italy.

The trip was a wonderful adventure filled with hostels in Germany, The Sound of Music tour in Austria and then meeting my mother in Rome.  We toured the colossal city together for a few days before departing for Florence where Mr. M had left a lovely message welcoming us to Firenze.  We met him for dinner at a fabulous restaurant where the waiters brought us dish after dish, none of which we ordered!  It was a culinary journey I never wanted to end.  After some time in Florence, Mr. M, my mother and I left for Venice.  It was there that Mr. M shared his true feelings for me.

We were staying in a funky hotel right on the canal and what our room lacked in décor, it made up for in location and view.  It was a rather large room and yes, all three of us would be staying in there together!  Looking back on it now, I’m not sure why we didn’t book Mr. M his own room, it was a little awkward!  One night Mr. M grabbed some half burned candles from an open closet on our way to our room.  We stuck the candles in san pellegrino bottles and used them to light our card game while my mother slept.  I’m still not totally convinced that she was asleep, but it appeared that way.  As the card games finished and the candles burned even lower, Mr. M began sharing his feelings for me and his desire to further our relationship.  I felt very stuck because my heart just wasn’t feeling anything, but my mind was screaming “this guy is a catch!  Go for it!”.  Perhaps my conflicted thoughts had something to do with that Sunday morning 3 months prior.

It was February 1995 and I was 2 months away from graduating from Pepperdine University.  I had started going to Malibu Presbyterian Church that year and really grew to love that church family.  This particular Sunday morning seemed very normal – I went to church alone, preferred to sit in the back by myself, and leave shortly after it was over.  I wasn’t looking for a social event.  As I parked my car and walked up the steps to the sanctuary, I was slightly late and tip toed in the back.  Then I saw him.  Something came over me that I had never felt before.  He was standing on the stage in a navy blue suit sharing the morning’s announcements.  When I saw him I knew.  I said to myself, “I’m going to marry that man one day.”  I didn’t even know his name.  But I knew.