The Joel and Michawn Story - Part 8

Before Joel got back, while living there at John and Nicole's...let me just shout "AWESOME" at the top of my lungs. Wow. It was just such a great time of peace. And that's weird with everything that was going on in my life. But, that is the feeling that still comes over me when I think about my time there in that house.

Anyway, at one point while living there, I was talking to John about when Joel did come back. I was a bit confused really. I wasn't confused about whether or not he was my husband...that wasn't at the forefront of my confusion. But, I just kept wondering if I was really supposed to know. I had heard women talk about how they "knew from the start" or "knew he was the one for me, even before he did." That wasn't what I knew. John cleared it up for me. He just very simply asked me what I did know. I replied, "I've always just known that I could follow him." And, there it was...that profound but simple question that John asked me provided such foundation and peace for me. There was my answer. My answer was not a yes or no. It was just that I knew I could follow him. And, in John's very wisdom-filled ways, he said, "Well, you need to be ready to follow him with a 'no' then."

Wow. That was good. John went on to say that it would be really easy if Joel came back and said "let's get married" and wanted to wisk me away. It's easy to follow when someone is trying to lead you where you want to go anyway. But, when it's not the way you want to go, that's not as easy.

I truly didn't know if Joel was God's man for me or not. And...this took all the pressure off. I was loving being a girl...just trusting, just following, just looking to Jesus alone. I didn't have to figure anything out. Of course Joel didn't either...he just had to follow Jesus and do what He said. But, I didn't even have to have a yes or no. I just had to do what I had always known...follow Joel.

I had that garage sale that I was talking about one Saturday in late August. Joel got back that same Saturday really late at night (August 26, 2000 to be exact). I didn't even know when he was coming back. We had corresponded a couple of times while he was gone, but only early on in the trip. And I made it a point to never initiate the correspondence. I hadn't heard from him in a while. Didn't know when he was coming back. Had no idea if he was even still thinking about "us." But, didn't matter...I was just trusting, loving Jesus, and following. I seriously was at perfect peace.

At church the next morning he was there. He walked into Life Challenge. We said hi and gave each other a side hug (side hugs only in Life Challenge...it was never a stated rule, but looking back, that's just the way it was...a good thing of course). :) Anyway, later we talked a bit and he asked me what I was doing that night. I almost always worked on Sunday nights, but for some strange reason (blatantly God perhaps), I was off. We made arrangements for him to come over to the Graves' that night to catch up.

He came...and I'll tell you all about it in Part 9.

Also, for those of you needing an update from the here and now, I will be posting one of those probably on Monday, so be sure to check back.

Every year on the Saturday of the 4th of July weekend, our family (the Hough/Day side) has a reunion. It involves all day at the lake with some great, great food (including homemade ice cream of all sorts of flavors and "snuff" and watermelons of course), some great times with family, and some great watersports. Here are me, Ariel, and Amanda eating some good watermelon.
Jared and Tucker (my brothers).
Swimming makes everybody hungry, right? Of course we have tons of food at the lake too, but there's nothing like a shower and then some Cookshack after a long day of swimming. :)
After the day at the lake, it's tradition for all us cousins to do something together (same on Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day). It used to always be a movie, but as we've gotten older, sometimes we just opt for a game night together instead of traveling to a movie theater (remember, the nearest one to Saline is at least 45 minutes away). Here we are having such a great time together playing games (I think this may have been the very first game night).
Models in the hay. :) Me and my 3rd cousins (they are sisters...there is another sister who wasn't there)...Elizabeth, Rebecca, and Alicia.
Hannah and Joseph Graves.
This and the following pictures are more images from Joel's trip to Brasil. Lots of good times with people from the "old gang." Sadly, they don't all live in Goiania now, although we are still able to see and keep in touch with some of them.




Joel with some friends at the church where his dad used to be one of the pastors. They weren't in this building at the time, but it's the same church.