A Love Story in the Making

Last Friday, me and one of my coworkers were anxiously watching the last customers of the day make their way through the shop and search for their perfect gifts. It was a mom and her son, and the boy couldn’t have been more than 10.

They came up to the counter and we rang up their items and asked if they would like anything gift wrapped. The mom pointed to the set of monogrammed earrings and a monogrammed pearl bracelet. She looked down at her son with admiration and said, “They’re for his girlfriend.”

He looked up at us and anxiously smiled. I started wrapping the items in tissue and noticed the monogram as the letter “N.”

I looked at the boy and asked, “What’s your girlfriend’s name?”

He looked at me matter of factly, and said, “Natalie.”

“Well that’s a pretty name, how long has she been your girlfriend?”

“A little over a month.”

His mom interjected and said, “Well actually they’ve been together since November.”

My coworker and I both laughed, “He’s doing better than we are,” we joked.

I looked at the boy again and asked if he was going to ask Natalie to be his valentine. He said yes and told me he was going to give her the gift on Tuesday.

“You are so very thoughtful.” I said.

He smiled at me and took the gift bag from my hands.

We thanked them and I told the boy, “I wish you and Natalie the best of luck.”

He beamed and walked out the door with his mom.

***

I don’t talk about my divorce much and I don’t need to really. It was an unhealthy relationship that lasted far longer than it should have. I wish him the best and pray that he gets on a path to what’s meant for him.

I, on the other hand, am still a hopeless romantic, despite all the nonsense I have been through with the men in my life. I am team soulmate and believe with every fiber of my being that God creates a person that perfectly complements us in every way. Notice I use the word “complements” not “completes.”

I knew I wasn’t marrying my soulmate, but I was so scared I would never find him, that I chose fear instead. This wasn’t fair to my ex, myself, and most importantly, God.

I tried to take something away from God the day I said “I do.” I tried to take his thoughtfulness. His artistry. His divine planning. I thought I knew better and that I was going to save my ex from himself. All I did was add divorced to my relationship history.

Despite the fact that the one thing I never wanted to do in this life was get divorced, it was absolutely the most freeing experience of my life.

Not because he was a horrible person, but because he wasn’t my person.

I’ve been able to feel my person since I was young. I knew there was someone out there for me. I didn’t know his name, face, location, or story, but he was real. I married someone else still knowing he was out there. When my ex-husband moved out and the decision to divorce was finalized, that knowing reawakened deep within me.

I could feel his presence.

There is no coincidence that I picked Tennessee to move to. Yes, my Dad wanted to retire here, but I chose an entirely different area to call my new home. A town I had barely seen in the 48 hours I spent here in May of 2022, but I picked it, because I felt something here.

I felt it in the plane as we made our final descent into Nashville.

I felt it as I drove the entirety of Tennessee to explore as much as we could.

I felt it the second I saw the yellow door.

Once the move was complete, I never felt sad. Sure, I miss everyone in Colorado that I left, but being here and feeling this energy gave me the kind of peace you cannot create. It’s the kind of peace that only comes directly from God.

Part of this peace was knowing my person was here. Somehow. Thousands of miles away in Smalltown, USA, my person had been living and waiting, just like me.

I still don’t know his name or story, but I know when he’s close by. My heart can feel it. The energy literally shifts, and I know.

It may seem crazy. Or Impossible. But it’s more real than anything I have ever felt before.

I talk about this journey of mine as one of healing, and praying, and making the vision I have for my life a reality, and this is part of that vision. My journey to Tennessee is a love story in the making. I don’t know when that chapter will begin, but let me tell you, it’s going to be the stuff of legend, because God is so good.

I don’t know what will happen to Natalie and that boy, but I know God has something special planned for them too.