KIM: I met Rusty at a Bible study group that I started attending back in October 2006. First impression: nice guy.

RUSTY: Yeah, the Bible study was hosted by a good friend of mine, Chris Bjorkman.  (His father, Pastor Ray Bjorkman, is the pastor of Beach Fellowship Church which we attend.)

KIM: Chris had introduced us about 4 times!  He would always say, "Have you met Rusty?" or to Rusty, he'd say, "Have you met Kim?".  We saw each other pretty frequently at church on Sundays, small group one night a week, and once in a while we would hang out as a group on weekends.  Never one on one though.  (I had this rule where I didn't hang out one on one with a guy unless I was interested.)  For about a year we got to know each other as friends.  Looking back on that, I praise God that we weren't interested in each other during that time.

RUSTY: To be honest I was somewhat interested when I first met Kim, but I was going through a time that I felt God telling me to take a break from relationships.  There were many qualities that I appreciated in Kim, but I never really saw her as a possibility during that time.  I agree with Kim.  It definitely was a blessing that we weren't considering a relationship during the first year we knew each other.  This ultimately allowed us to learn more about each other. 

KIM: We weren't pursuing each other.  Instead we were just ourselves around each other never trying to impress or flatter the other.  I always thought highly of Rusty: of his character, his humility, his humor, and his taste in music.  He was a mature Christian (still is).  I respected him and what he had to say about the things of God.  He was just the kind of person I enjoyed being around.

RUSTY: Likewise, Kim was a very sweet girl that never spoke negatively about anything or anyone.  It was refreshing to meet someone like her.  She has always been a positive influence in my life.  One thing that really stood out about her to me is the fact that she made me want to be a better person.

KIM: I remember when things changed.  One night in particular, the group had gone over to Pastor Gary's house for a game night.  (Pastor Gary is our church's associate pastor.)  I remember watching Rusty that night and realizing that I was beginning to have some feelings for him that were not the same as they had been in the past.  I was starting to look at him in the context of dating. Could it be? Me and Rusty? Nah! What am I thinking? We're just friends, I told myself.

RUSTY: Oddly enough it was right around this time that I felt that God had released me back into the realm of relationships.  I had been single for approximately 4 years and one night while I was by myself I felt as though the Lord told me, "You have been restored and you are now ready to enter into the world of relationships.  I release you."  It was quite an exciting time for me, but I still didn't think that Kim was a possibility.  I began to become more attracted to her, but didn't think that I was worthy enough to be with someone as special as her.

KIM: As not to make this a long story, I will not give all the details but a little while after my revelation about my feelings for him I shared with 2 close friends (Monica and Cassandra) how I felt about Rusty.  Not long after that Pastor Gary prayed over me and his prayer was so telling.  This was before anyone other than Monica and Cassandra knew about my feelings for Rusty.  He couldn't have known what was on my heart about Rusty and my hopes for him, but he spoke into my life saying that there was someone out there waiting for me and he was ready.

RUSTY: That would be me!  I was ready and I was waiting!  Heh heh.

KIM: Monica had a Christmas party on December 8th, 2007 and Rusty was there.  I remember looking forward to seeing him.  I enjoyed his company tremendously that night.  The entire time, he was within ear shot of me and that just made me happy.

RUSTY: I remember that night well!  We did have such a good time together and we laughed and joked throughout the night.  It was just a really great time of fellowship.

KIM: When the night was over and I pulled into my driveway I caught myself smiling.  A BIG SMILE.  Then I said to myself in the car aloud, "You like Rusty!"

RUSTY: Well, I really liked Kim at this point.  The early feelings of "not having a chance" were slowly dissipating.  I really enjoyed being with her and I had already begun to think of new and creative ways that I could get the group to interact more so that I could spend more time with her.  God was restoring my confidence and remember feeling as though I had to chance!

KIM: Rusty sent an email out on December 12th to our small group inviting us all out to a great weekend. A Friday night at a church to hear a guy he works with speak; A Saturday visit to the Chrysler Museum and a walk around Downtown Portsmouth; and lastly a visit to the nursing home that our small group had visited once before. I went to the Friday night thing and wanted to go to the Saturday thing but I had already made plans.

RUSTY: Friday night's service was really moving and afterwards we (Kim, Monica, our friend Ben and myself) went out to eat at Kelly's Tavern.  Cassandra showed up later and had dessert with us.  After dinner we walked around a department store at the mall.  We just hung out and laughed and enjoyed ourselves.  The quality of time together was soo amazingly satisfying.

KIM: Sunday arrived and the group was going to go visit the nursing home after church.  We went to lunch after church and then planned to leave from there.  Well, wouldn't you know it.. the people in our group who showed an interest in going when the idea was presented all of a sudden had other things to do!  Pastor Gary wound up going with us, but took his own car.  Rusty asked me if I wanted to ride with him and so I did.

RUSTY: I was nervous yet excited of the prospect of finally having some quality one on one time with Kim.  As I started the car all of my nervousness miraculously vanished and we had incredibly fulfilling conversation with each other.  It was soo effortless and soo natural.  We were just ourselves and it was quite refreshing!

KIM: That day was a wonderful day.  I got to spend the whole day with Rusty and we had such good conversation, good laughter and overall a lovely time.

RUSTY: I was truly done for after spending that day for Kim.  The compassion and gentleness that I saw in her completely blessed my heart!

(MORE TO COME SOON!!)