A LOVE STORY: by allison de partee

When I was asked to share my love story with all of you, I had to chuckle, because ours is not a typical one.

I'd always asked God for a crazy story with my husband, one that could not be explained any other way except that it was orchestrated by God. Well, that's just what we got. Thank you Lord!

I met Nick on January 22nd, 2008. He was a fairly new member of the Christian rock band Kutless, and had recently been frequenting Portland for band rehearsals and studio time. I had been friends with Dave, their bass player, and his wife Megan for a few years and that night they decided to invite me over. There were a few people in addition to the four of us, and throughout that night my attraction for Nick started to develop. He was tall, blonde and handsome (my rendition of the cliche phrase), and absolutely hilarious.

This draw to him mattered very little, as I found out later that Nick was already taken by a girl in California, and had been for over 4 years. His visit went on and we had evening after evening of group activities. Something was different with this guy. We connected like I hadn't with anyone before, but there was that road block- a girlfriend back home. I allowed myself to be attracted to someone who wasn't available.  Towards the end of his visit however, I found out that Nick had been praying about his relationship and was days away from breaking things off.

I patiently waited for things to take place, and slowly but surely I was being pursued by this handsome man from California. We dated for about 2 1/2 months, with a couple visits from sunny California to rainy Portland, OR. April came around and things just didn't feel right. We took a day to pray, and ended up deciding that this just wasn't working. There was no particular reason, it just didn't feel "right."

Over the course of the next year and a half Nick and I stayed friends, with an occasional text or email, but that was about it. At least on my end. In October of 2009 I received an email from him saying that he had been thinking about me and he couldn't shake the thought of me. He so sweetly asked if it would be ok if we got to know each other again, even if it was just as friends. Basically, he'd take what he could get. I definitely took the email with flattery, but immediately got weirded out and anxious about the whole thing, which could only lead to one thing, avoidance. Poor guy. I never really revisited the idea, and even avoided coffee dates with him that next week when he was in town.

After some hurt feelings (I'm such a jerk), life went on, and thoughts of each other lingered off and on, but no real feelings on my end were surfacing. Until March 2010. I had recently been getting involved with Solid Rock's high school youth group, and was on a Spring Break retreat in Sunriver. One of the leaders, Jake Fisher, pulled me aside one day and said he had a song for me to listen to. It was Nick's new song that he'd posted on his website as a free download. It was called, "Love Can Change Your Mind." Admittedly, I had stuffed Nick way into the back of my mind, and hadn't allowed myself to think about him for a LONG time. I sat listening and wondered, "this couldn't possibly be about me, could it?" This song about some ghost of the past that was haunting him. A chorus that said "why can't you just believe? You know we're just wasting time! You can say that everything we had was blind, but love can change your mind." Then the bridge line played and it hit me... it was indeed about me. He sang... "From sunny California, headed north to Portland grey, said 'I'll be waitin' for ya,' but there's nothin' left to say."

He was waiting for me? He still cared about me? Wow. I had a lot to think about.

I went to dinner with my best friend and roommate Chloe later that week, and we spent most of the time analyzing what all of this meant. I didn't think I liked Nick anymore. I thought that was a memory of the past, but then she asked me a question that ended up changing my mind and opening the door again. "So ... why not Nick?" I actually had no clue. Not a single answer to that question. There was no reason why Nick wasn't the guy.

And so the story began. I wrote an email, he wrote back, I wrote back, calls were made, and finally we were dating again.

We spent 10 months dating between Portland and Nashville. This included around 24 roundtrips, and an approximate total of $8,000 spent on airfare.

After all of the travel, and many days spent apart, we were so blessed to be engaged on February 22nd, 2011, married on June 10th, and moved to Nashville, TN on June 23rd. Life is sweet!

Getting to know each other in marriage has by far been my favorite season of our relationship. It is not a cake walk. It has not been easy moving across the country, away from my family, but goodness gracious it has been WONDERFUL.

I married a man who waited for me, who pursued me, and continues to pursue me as his wife. Nick is a godly man who's learning every day what it means to lead me and lay down his life, and he's doing a great job. I have never met such a hard working man. He has been so gracious as he's learned my flaws. I'm pretty sure he's learned a new flaw of mine everyday, and with every single thing learned, he covers me.

For those of you waiting for Mr. Right, please don't settle for anything less than this. These godly husbands DO exist, and they are worth every day spent single. I pinch myself sometimes as I look over at Nick and wonder how I became so blessed. My only answer for that question is God. That's what I asked for from the beginning.

Thank you God for writing my love story.

Thank you for reading.

Allison

If you get a chance, take a listen to the love song that Nick wrote for me that got me hooked for good!

LOVE CAN CHANGE YOUR MIND

EtcIntentional Parents