The year was 1999… I was just three months shy of high school graduation. I was not what you’d call social, sticking mainly to a small group of people who prided themselves on being nonconformist. If it was main stream, we were not into it… anyways…. I was also not what you would call popular. Quite the opposite, in fact. The whole high school experience for me was definitely not one to remember. So, here I was, trying desperately to get somewhere new by way of college, plan my way outta Dodge, and by Dodge, I mean Amarillo. Little did I know at the time what else God had in store for me… little did I know how long it would take me to recognize God’s hand in my circumstances… and one Sunday, my family up and decided to attend a new church.
So, here we go… One thing you must know about me is that I am pretty uncomfortable in social situations that include large groups of people that I don’t know… I definitely missed the gene present in my mother and little sister that includes the ability to find friends anywhere and always say the right thing at the right time, and engage in decent social graces in general. So, here I am feeling very uncomfortable in my charcoal grey wool cargo pants and mauve wool v-neck sweater. My little sister, being the social butterfly that she is, recognizes a boy from the high school we attended… he was a perfectly nice boy, but not someone I knew, other than knowing that I had seen him around campus. She instantly makes friends, and drags me along to sit in the ‘youth’ section… so, now I’m feeling conspicuous and uncomfortable, sitting next to a strange boy in a strange church… little did I know that I was being watched.
There is a pretty much ubiquitous greeting time in most Baptist churches, usually after the call to worship. This is a nightmare for me, still is. I don’t like hugging. I don’t like shaking hands… germs! Plus there’s the whole ‘will anyone want to shake my hand’ rejection thing. So, I am trying to avoid touching anyone when an eager looking, nerdy kind of chubby guy in glasses comes up and shakes my hand. I hardly remember him…
**The following is Sugarbear’s relation of our first meeting, almost verbatim**
Sugarbear was sitting in the sound booth, being in charge of the powerpoint that day. He was sitting there, minding his own business, playing with the light switches, when BOOM… He looks down and sees the most beautiful girl he has ever seen in his entire life sitting next to his best friend... he became insanely jealous, and at that moment, he knew that he would rush down during the greeting just to shake her hand.
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The next couple of weeks are filled with getting to know the church, beginning to attend the student activities, culminating in moving our membership. Me, being the determined one I am, let everyone know that this was only temporary, as I had my heart set on attending the big, expensive private school that my two best friends would be attending… before I know it, it is Easter, and the youth gather at the home of our youth pastor for a fun-filled evening of watching Deep Impact…(yes, the asteroid movie)…little did I know that what began as a simple conversation about physics would end up in a very reluctant, disastrous first date and a new guitar. More to come in part II...
And, for a parting shot, who is this Sugarbear of which I speak? Here he is… don't ask me what was up with the beard in this pic... I just don't know...
More to come!
