The Gas Station

where i met my husband

When I met Jake, I was working at Loves, starting my life over. I had nothing. I was living in a camper with no electricity or running water. Surprisingly, well, to most, I was happy. I had God, and I was learning to be content with whatever each day gave me. At night I would pray about the kind of love I wanted, the kind of man I hoped to meet, and how I wanted us to find each other. I didn’t want to meet someone online. I wanted him to see me as I was, without makeup, without getting dressed up, in some kind of regular, real-life scenario. Sometimes I would imagine that maybe it would happen behind the counter at work, and then it REALLY did. The most handsome man I had ever seen walked in and smiled at me.

He was standing in line when we looked at each other, and I felt myself fall into his eyes. It was as if the whole of my life had been poured into that moment and was turning there in front of me, like falling through the cosmos. I could see my past, every bumpy road that had brought me to that gas station, all of it moving together. And then there were flashes of a life I had never seen before. A life I hadn’t reached. Jake older and still beside me. I couldn’t have known any of it, but for a second, I could see the shape of something waiting beyond the moment we were standing in.

We were both shaking. He asked if I wanted to get coffee sometime. I said yes and gave him my number. I remember hoping he wouldn’t wait three weeks to text me because I had been reading a bunch of ridiculous dating advice about how you were supposed to wait so you didn’t seem desperate. He texted me when I got off work that night, and we talked about everything. We wanted marriage, children, and we both wanted to wait until marriage to live together. He loved God.

We went on our first date, and after that, we spent almost every day together for three months. Then we got married and moved in together.

I know some of you have heard pieces of this story before, but I got gas at Loves the other day and found myself thinking about that girl behind the counter again, so I wanted to write it down. I don’t think I ever really believed this would happen for me, but still, I had prayed for love, even when I had no idea what it would look like or if God would ever answer that prayer.

I don’t know if I believe in love at first sight, but I do believe in that moment I had with Jake. I had prayed for a love I couldn’t see, and God was already answering me. I think that sometimes we imagine an answered prayer has to be served on a gold platter, but sometimes it's a person walking through a door while you are standing behind a counter, having no idea that your life is about to change.

Photo by me <3

Have you ever had a moment that felt like God was answering a prayer you hadn’t even seen coming?

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