Road Trip: The Perfect Ending

After driving out to Arizona with Amy, I flew back on Sunday. Following a layover in Detroit, I was scheduled to land in Binghamton at 11:31pm. I had made plans for my friend, Nate, to pick me up from the airport because my parents didn't want to be out that late. He was happy to meet me at the airport and had this sign for me on the way home - complete with some Arizona cactus and The Bean from Chicago! I loved it, and I was happy to see him.

We got back to my house and put my stuff inside. It was late, but my sleep schedule was all messed up with all the time changes, so we decided to take a walk. Three weeks before, Nate had taken me four wheeling to see the sunset. What I left out of that blog post was the conversation Nate brought up that night. It was basically "the talk" saying that he was interested in me and wanted to know if I was on the same page. We'd enjoyed getting to know each other the past two months and appreciated qualities we saw in each other. We decided to give it some time and talk again later about defining things a little more. See, I'm not a big fan of change, and starting a dating relationship would be a big change. Nate was patient with me and told me to take all the time I needed. Well, that Sunday night, I decided I was ready!

We found a bench near my house where we sat and talked for a while. We talked about expectations, things we appreciated about each other, and strengths we saw in each other. We did decide to start dating, then prayed together, desiring God to be the focus of our new relationship. Neither of us have ever been in a serious relationship, so this has all been new to us.

It's been fun sharing my latest news with friends. I told Nate that I love to brag about him! I met him at church when I moved back to Binghamton. He welcomed me from the beginning and included me in activities. He is generous and likes to help people. No one has a bad word to say about him, saying he's a hard worker, good with money, and the nicest guy you'll ever meet. He's 27 and works two jobs with trucks. He also owns a two family home that he rents out and maintains. Several conversations showed me that Nate's focus is on the Lord, spending time in the Word and looking for ways to serve Him.

I keep telling Nate that if plans went my way, I would have stayed in Rochester, but God knew what He was doing bringing me back to Binghamton! I was starting to become very content with my new life in Binghamton, and then God brings Nate along to really cause me to be thankful for what I have here.

And just for fun - our first picture together from that night we watched the sunset...and hoping for many more to come!