So, with the courtship topic on Tyler's blog being patience, I thought I would share how the Lord has been teaching me patience over the past 7 months.
It all began one day in September when Tyler got on a plane and flew to Scotland. We had been in our courtship for about a week, and had talked many, many terrific hours on the phone each day, getting through lists of topics at a furious pace. Now for a couple weeks, he would be 8 hours ahead, on a rigorous schedule with "Little Bear" and Faith and Freedom Tour. Besides, 4 hour conversations would be a mite expensive done internationally. ;) Anyhow, for the first few days, I felt like I was starving (to put it dramatically). Short calls, and not necessarily every day, were a little difficult to adjust to. But I did. That was step one for me.
When he got home to AZ again, it became apparent 4 hour conversations were impractical. So, especially since Tyler was working HARD to complete his bachelor's degree, we talked for about two hours every other day. Again, that was difficult at times. I would just be struck in the middle an in-between days by really wanting to talk with him. But it was good. And I learned I could 'live' (to be dramatic again). That was step two.
When his family began packing to move up to OR, Tyler became extremely busy. No longer could I expect to possibly find an email from him at any time in the day. Nor could I expect a reply in the daytime. It wasn't until the evening that he had a chance to call or email for the first time in a day. Which, again, was hard. But good. That was step three.
And step three was very important (so were steps one and two, since they built me up to number 3) since it got me used to what it was like to have him working all day, and coming home/being available in the evenings. And it is something I will be continuing to practice since he'll be working full time now! I'm just grateful at the way the Lord has led me along. ;)
