April 28th, 2003 is a day we will never forget for a lot of reasons. Here's why:
* We went on our first official date to the Third Day concert in Salisbury. Matt drove over for the concert, which ended up being chaperoned by two of my friends who also wanted to see one of our favorite bands!
* Some of you may remember that there were really bad tornadoes that night. One tore through Cambridge, which is pretty darn close to Salisbury. We were in a storm warning and all had to go to the basement for several hours until it was lifted. I was really concerned about Matt's safety driving home, so I asked him to call me to let me know he got there.
Welp, I never got a call and finally went to bed, figuring he'd forgotten. Which leads me to my next reason:
* Matt was in a horrible accident in Annapolis on the way home that night, which is why he never called. A 20 year old boy crossed the median and Matt hit him (there was nowhere for him to go because both were going at 60 mph) at his gas tank. The boy's car blew up and he died. We found out later that his death actually caused the accident, which actually helped Matt in his emotional healing process because he couldn't get him out of the fire. Matt got out of his car, but a bruised heart caused him to flatline. Thankfully, God wasn't quite done with him yet! Except for a messed up ankle and some cuts, he got out relatively unscathed.
When Matt's mom called me much later that night to let me know what had happened, I was so scared! I came home the next day to surprise him and make sure he was really okay, which ended up being a very good thing. :)
Our relationship kind of progressed quickly from there, because there's nothing like dealing with a near-death experience to help you put things in perspective! 8 months later, we were engaged. (Now, before you go saying that was way too fast, remember--or realize--that we had been friends for 10 years! It just took us a while!)
7 years later, here we are! We both have great jobs, we have a beautiful house, the sweetest boy ever, and another baby on the way. I would say God has been good to us. :)
So April 28th will always be a day of new beginnings for us. It will be a day for us to remember a young life lost, thank God for sparing Matt's, and listen to a little Third Day, which will always be one of our favorite bands. :)
* We went on our first official date to the Third Day concert in Salisbury. Matt drove over for the concert, which ended up being chaperoned by two of my friends who also wanted to see one of our favorite bands!
* Some of you may remember that there were really bad tornadoes that night. One tore through Cambridge, which is pretty darn close to Salisbury. We were in a storm warning and all had to go to the basement for several hours until it was lifted. I was really concerned about Matt's safety driving home, so I asked him to call me to let me know he got there.
Welp, I never got a call and finally went to bed, figuring he'd forgotten. Which leads me to my next reason:
* Matt was in a horrible accident in Annapolis on the way home that night, which is why he never called. A 20 year old boy crossed the median and Matt hit him (there was nowhere for him to go because both were going at 60 mph) at his gas tank. The boy's car blew up and he died. We found out later that his death actually caused the accident, which actually helped Matt in his emotional healing process because he couldn't get him out of the fire. Matt got out of his car, but a bruised heart caused him to flatline. Thankfully, God wasn't quite done with him yet! Except for a messed up ankle and some cuts, he got out relatively unscathed.
When Matt's mom called me much later that night to let me know what had happened, I was so scared! I came home the next day to surprise him and make sure he was really okay, which ended up being a very good thing. :)
Our relationship kind of progressed quickly from there, because there's nothing like dealing with a near-death experience to help you put things in perspective! 8 months later, we were engaged. (Now, before you go saying that was way too fast, remember--or realize--that we had been friends for 10 years! It just took us a while!)
7 years later, here we are! We both have great jobs, we have a beautiful house, the sweetest boy ever, and another baby on the way. I would say God has been good to us. :)
So April 28th will always be a day of new beginnings for us. It will be a day for us to remember a young life lost, thank God for sparing Matt's, and listen to a little Third Day, which will always be one of our favorite bands. :)
Comments
Man, how time flies, huh?