Once upon a time, there was a little girl named Chelsea and a little boy named Tucker. Both of them were raised in a small town in Southern California called Fallbrook. They met at a private school in first grade. They were acquainted by the typical grade-school pig tail-pulling rivalry. Tucker and his friend would run the playground terrorizing the pig-tails of Chelsea and her friend. He was older then she by a year. They knew each other growing up through grade school into Junior High. They sat next to each other in social studies class in eighth grade. It was then Chelsea began to notice and admire Tucker in a whole new way. Unknown to Tucker, her pig-tail rivalry contempt turned into a juvenile crush. Eventually, Chelsea set her sights on other things and the immature feelings faded. Tucker, however, didn’t notice much of her until high school. It seemed that their lives were headed in two different directions when in high school the two were providentially reunited. After receiving an unassuming invitation to go to a Bible study by a mutual friend, she learned that Tucker would be driving them. It is often said that as Chelsea stepped off of her porch and into Tucker’s car, she was really stepping back into Tucker’s life. From that day on, things would never be the same.
The three of them attended the Bible study weekly. One night they were invited to a revival service at a local Baptist church. Intrigued, the three got in the car as they had many times before. The service was exciting; the preacher (Dave McCracken) was surprisingly excited about what he preached. Over a course of time, the three decided to consistently attend this church and decided one by one, to join. From this sprung much change and wonderful new horizons. The three were learning and growing so much in faith and understanding. It was at this very church that Tucker and Dan realized their need for salvation through the preaching of God’s Word. They called upon Jesus to be their personal Lord and Saviour and were baptized.

Summer break quickly came and the two flew home together. It was sadly apparent how much things had changed from the last summer. Their relationship was seemingly platonic as they only saw each other at church. Chelsea decided to try to move on. The summer progressed and something incredibly strange occurred: Tucker began to notice Chelsea in a whole new way. He watched her the entire summer and as he did, it seemed as though he had begun to wake up from a long sleep. However, nothing was said and the two headed back to school for the coming semester. The year started out well, Chelsea was busy in her studies. But Tucker was becoming more and more distracted by his newfound feelings for her. After a few weeks, he started to pay more attention to Chelsea. Chelsea quickly recognized his extra attention as very abnormal as their friendship had been reduced to a cordial acquaintance. He was treating her like he used to when they were friends in California.

She informed Tucker of her vow to the Lord. He immediately decided to respect and support her decision. Many things happened over the course of that year as it proved to be a long but fruitful year. Even through a few rocky times, they built up and maintained their friendship though the semester. They would talk on occasion but strictly at a friendship level. Summer was approaching and again it seemed that their lives were going two different directions, this time, perhaps for good. Chelsea decided to go on a missions trip to Brazil for the summer. While Tucker decided that he would stay in California for a semester and then go to a school in Florida the following semester.
The time came for them to part ways not knowing when/if they would see each other again. They were both secretly heart-broken to say goodbye as she left for Brazil because of the uncertainty of their separate paths. It was a mystery if they would ever see each other again and if so, could things ever be the same? Yet both were decided that they would trust the Lord. This was the first time in two years that they would be apart. To compound their plight, they agreed to not communicate more than sperratic e-mails updating each other on the events of their summers. Though they both grew and learned so much, the summer seemed unending and the distance unbearable. But neither said a word to the other about it. The summer was over and Chelsea went back to school in Oklahoma and Tucker stayed in California to work. To Chelsea, school was not the same without Tucker and to Tucker, home was not the same without Chelsea. Both were beginning to find themselves lonely without the other. However Tucker would call Chelsea on occasion and the two would catch up. It didn’t take long for Tucker to ask Chelsea if he could call her once a week. She quickly agreed and the two talked casually as friends every Sunday night. Things were some-what on hold for another two months as Chelsea honored the vow she made.

Meanwhile, their friendship bloomed and it became apparent that though Chelsea never stated her feelings, there was a mutual interest. The remaining months of the semester, Tucker waited patiently and prayed. He sent her a letter every day and found ways to let her know how much he cared about her. They both looked forward to seeing each other at Christmas break as it had been six months since they had last seen each other.
The school’s semi-annual formal banquet was approaching. Chelsea was looking forward to chaperoning for her best friend Kayla and her boyfriend. Though she wished Tucker could be there, she decided to make the best of it. Tucker was sorry he couldn’t be there as well. So he told Chelsea that he would send her a corsage and that he would take her to the banquet next semester when he came back to Heartland. Banquet night had come and Chelsea met up with the two she was going with. Ryan (Kayla’s date) seemed a little nervous as he explained to Chelsea that he was supposed to have the corsage from Tucker to give to her, but somehow there was a miscommunication and he didn’t have it. Just as Chelsea was about to clarify that David was going to give it to her at the banquet, Tucker stood up from behind a desk in front of Chelsea and said “Here it is” as he held up her corsage.
Nothing could have taken her by more surprise than this moment. There were times throughout the semester that Chelsea missed Tucker so much that she often thought she would see him around campus. She was in utter shock as she stood frozen in unbelief staring at the man she knew she would one day marry. Her mind reeled, unsure of whether to believe if he was real or not. “Impossible!”, she thought, this had to be her imagination again. Suddenly, she dropped her bags and screamed. She ran out of the room through the doors and into the bathroom. Kayla ran after her to the bathroom only to meet a smiling, hysterical, screaming girl. She explained to Chelsea that they had been planning this since October and that Tucker had flown in from California that afternoon to take her to banquet. She was shaking and full of joy. Once she collected herself, she and Kayla calmly walked back into the room as if nothing had happened.
The night was delightful as they and the Gaddis’ went to banquet together. After the banquet and dessert at a nice restraint, Tucker asked Chelsea if they could have a talk the following day on the bench outside of the music hall. Chelsea agreed and was silently delighted as she knew this would be the talk that would redefine their relationship. Thankfully the verse she embroidered to give to him at Christmas break was completed and all she had left to do was frame it. She did so the following morning and met Tucker exactly at two-o’clock on the bench outside the music hall. They were both nervous as they sat down. She gave him the framed verse. After reading the verse, he knew what she was saying. He smiled, thanked her, and they talked a while; yet he seemed somewhat uncomfortable, perhaps nervous.

The story is not over yet…as our Saviour has lead us thus far, He will continue to lead. For this we say, God has truly done great things and we have so much to thank Him for. First for saving our souls and changing our lives from the inside out. Also, for the miraculous way He brought us together,coupled with the wonderful future that lies ahead. We look to the future with a sense of wide-eyed expectancy, knowing that there is so much yet ahead. In realizing that this was just a small part of God’s master plan, we can see that God is so good. He is sovereign and has a wonderful purpose for each of his children. God has and is writing for us a wonderful love story. However, He has written another and it is best summed up in the verses John 3:16and 17 which states: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. In accepting Him as our personal Lord and Saviour, we were written into the greatest love story ever told. Though we have only proved that we are imperfect and cannot save ourselves, we can look to the future with joy and hope knowing that by accepting Him as our Saviour we will miss an eternity in hell separated from God. Rather we know for sure that when we die, we will spend an eternity in heaven with him. Our love story simply mirrors the greatest love story God wrote in the precious life-blood of Christ, His Son. Thank you for reading. We look forward to seeing you on our wedding day.