It started out gradually, like most love interests do. Watching him from afar across campus. Managing to snag a nearby seat in the dining hall. Tagging along with my roommate, Jen, who knew him.
By Thanksgiving, the noticing had turned into flirting. I was pretty sure we were on the same page. But neither one of us said a word.
Fast forward to the day before Christmas break. Everyone at our small college packed up their stuff and loaded their cars to drive home for the holidays. In some stroke of genius, I mentioned to Josh and his roommate that maybe we could caravan part of the way home. Perhaps follow each other and grab lunch before going our separate ways along the I-5 freeway. See I’m sneaky like that!
I’m not quite sure how it happened but somehow Josh ended up in the passenger seat of my car. The trip was going great until we hit the Grapevine… a mountain pass linking Southern California to the Central Valley. The heat gauge on my Ford Bronco kept climbing, higher and higher. We ended up leaving her at a service station.
This is where the story gets a little awkward. Josh’s roommate’s car was loaded down heavy. Stuff from floor to ceiling on the back bench seat of the 1981 two-door Honda Civic Hatchback. Josh opened the passenger door and slid in, and I climbed onto the only available seat—his lap.
I spent the next two hours awkwardly adjusting my weight on Josh’s lap and trying not to die of embarrassment. I must admit, by the time we met up with my mom at a random Carl’s Jr. in the middle of nowhere, the sparks were flying.
Just over a month later, we started dating and by God’s grace Mr. Josh Lee has been by my side for twenty-five years.
Some might say that I mistakenly connect God’s grace to everything under the heavens—landing the role of Baby Grace, every good and bad experience I’ve had, my car breaking down and sitting on a guy’s lap!
Even a brain tumor was a gift of God’s grace according to my somewhat unique perspective.
Do you believe that God has His hand in every bit of your life? It’s all grace when you do.