Cuz Baby You're a Firework!

               In light of the recent holiday I want to share the significance of this day for Zac and I...some of you may know that Zac and I dated very briefly in college and then broke up for two years.  Within those two years I moved from Tennessee to Hawai'i and he moved from North Carolina to New York.  Nearly 5,000 miles apart it's a real miracle that we ended up together today.  I once heard my father say, "love knows no distance, and two people in love are like magnets, the whole world can't separate them; there's a force that always brings them back together."
               After two years of not seeing each other, we finally met eyes at a New Years party at Zac's parents house in 2011.  This story I will hold for another time, but that particular meeting is probably the reason we are together today.  Had we not seen each other that day, I believe all hope would have been lost for us...you never know the impact of one single day or moment in time.  Had it played out any differently our lives would be drastically different.  But back to the significance of the 4th of July...  Zac eventually came to Hawai'i to visit me in July of 2012.  We took a leap of faith, not really knowing where either of us stood on a potential relationship and we split Zac's ticket fare half and half so we were both investing equal efforts into his trip.  He came out for about ten days and we had a wonderful and adventurous time exploring Oa'hu and the idea of "us".  We were given symphony tickets to the Hawai'i orchestra so we went on the 4th of July to hear them and watch the fireworks.  It was that day that Zac confronted me about 'us' asking, "so what are we? Dating?"  Me being so stubborn and not really understanding the possibility of us, being that we practically lived in different countries, was really reluctant to agree.  He pointed out how he had sent me a pending Facebook request to be boyfriend and girlfriend that I hadn't approved.  I argued that I didn't want people to comment and be in our business, but to him he needed the world to know that the girl he loved for years was finally his girlfriend and that all his efforts weren't for naught.  I reluctantly made it public via Facebook and the rest is now history.
                  This year I laid in a grassy park in Appleton, Wisconsin of all places and looked up in awe of the fireworks display light up the sky.  I was reminded of the love and light that Zac has brought my life.  No matter where I am in the world I'm happy knowing that he's mine and I'm his.  There is a certain freedom in giving yourself up to another person...therein lies safety, love, commitment and a promise of a future.  This freedom is a picture of Christ who gave himself up for us on the cross, He gave his life so we could have life more abundantly, and in return we can give our lives back to Him for a promise of a future and a hope.  We are to be like Him, and as we walk out this life, woven into our lives are tales of His kindness and love.  Let your everyday life teach you the mysteries and depths of His love.  He invaded the fabric of my life and I will not forget His promises for He has given me a future.
                           Above is the oldest picture that I can find of Zac and I together.  It was taken on the 4th of July in 2008 at Kings Mountain, North Carolina.  I was visiting Zac's family with my roommate and Zac's sister Becka over the summer.  If anyone has any older photos of us please send them our way, we would be so excited to see them!!!