Sunday, July 22, 2012

True Love






Kat and I are watching the finale of The Bachelorette. Yes, I just left myself open for lots of jokes but over the years we have watched various seasons. As we watched tonight, I could not help but think back to my relationship with Kat and how our relationship started off like a fairy tale.

During college, both Kat and I joined greek organizations. Upon graduating, we both took jobs working as consultants for our greek organizations. There was a leadership conference to help consultants become better and that is where Kat and I met. The ironic part was that I was not even supposed to be at the conference because I was had signed up to take a different job with my fraternity that would not have sent me to the conference. However, at the last minute I was replaced and was sent to the conference and even my room key had another guy's name on it because I was not supposed to be there.

I can still remember the moment when I first laid eyes on Kat. She was a few feet in front of me signing in and I looked at my friend and said, "I want to be with that girl." In my book, that was like me saying that I was experiencing "Love at First Sight." The conference was only a few days long but by the end of it, I wanted to be with Kat.

After the conference, we returned to Indianapolis where our greek organizations were located and we went on a date. I took Kat to a fancy Italian dinner and at the end of dinner, I asked Kat if she would be my girlfriend. Almost immediately, Kat rejected me. She explained that she was not ready because she had just gotten out of a 4 1/2 year long relationship. However, I was not going to allow this no to be a final no. We continued to date prior to me having to go on the road to travel the southwest.

During my travels, Kat came and visited me and finally agreed to be my girlfriend. I can still remember when I was in Waco, Texas and I was talking to Kat on the phone when I first told Kat that I loved her.   Just a couple of months later, I traveled to Chicago to meet Kat's parents. During that trip, I asked Kat's dad for Kat's hand in marriage and I bought an engagement ring with Kat's mom.

We met in July of 2004 and just 4 months later in the month of November, I proposed to Kat. We had been in the same city less than thirty days but I knew that Kat was the woman of my dreams. We met 8 years ago this July and we will celebrate our 7th wedding anniversary this December.

The most amazing part of our fairy tale is that I love Kat more today than the day that we said, "I do." We have been through our fair share of struggles but we have come through those struggles stronger and our love is deeper.

Thank You God for the amazing woman that you have gifted me for this journey of life.

Derek  

Saturday, July 21, 2012

WHY?






Yesterday, Kat and I continued a tradition that we have fulfilled many times over the last eight years-- seeing a movie around her birthday. Last night, Kat and I went to see The Dark Knight Rises.  I could not help as we sat in that dark theater but look around at the exit doors and wonder what the victims thought and felt as the gunmen opened fire upon them as they sat in their seats. What thoughts went through their minds? How would I react? And the question that we are all collectively asking, "Why?"

Why would a person kill innocent victims? Why did this have to happen? Why, if God is merciful, did this heinous act occur?

It is senseless tragedies such as this that people begin asking God, "Why?" Some of us ponder if God exists when horror is seen? Others of us, want to know how something this terrible could even occur in the first place?

The truth of the matter is that God's heart is broken for those that have died. God's heart is broken for those that are hurting and suffering. God did not create man to suffer but to have peace. God did not create man to perish but to have life everlasting. However, all things changed when Adam tasted the sweet taste of sin within the forbidden fruit. Upon his teeth breaking the skin of the fruit, the world as God created, changed. What was perfect, was now marred. What was beautiful, was now tarnished. What was without sin, was now covered in sin.

As we look at the tragedy in Colorado and begin to ask, "Why?" We can find the simple answer in the first pages of Genesis. However, my questions then become," What could we have done?" Did we as Christians reach out to this man in love? Did we show him Jesus by how we loved each other? Did we reach out to him when he was obviously struggling? What can we (and when I say we, I mean those that follow Christ) do to help prevent senseless tragedies like the Aurora shooting from happening again?

For those that look at an event like this and question if God exists, I say that it affirms my belief in the existence of God even more. I think that an event like the Aurora shooting would be more of a norm and less of an abnormality if there was no God because there would be no collective moral conscience that is inside of us.

For now, I pray for peace and healing to the families that have suffered and hurt. I pray for those that witnessed this horrendous event and will carry a scar of what they saw. I pray that we that follow Christ will have even more of a renewed passion for reaching those that Jesus misses most (those that are far from God) so that more events like this don't occur.

Hug your family a little tighter tonight,

Derek