Matt and Katie were introduced to each other by mutual friends. Katie emailed him. He responded. They wrote back and forth. Later they started to communicate on social media. Then they talked on the phone.
Friends and family noticed that he interacted with a young lady. they did not ask too. manny questions. They decided to respect his privacy. They figured that he would tell them when he was ready.
He liked her. She was funny. She was sweet. She was young. She was more evangelical. She was more moderate on certain issues. He decided to give her a chance. He was praying about it. He was praying for her as well. He was trying to get to know her. He was not sure how to proceed.
He liked her but he had questions. There were things he wanted to know first. He wanted to have those questioned answered before he could go further. He was happy with how it was going so far.
She liked him from the very beginning. She found him to be kind, strong. She felt a connection to him.she wanted to be married to someone a little older than her. She was fine that he was over ten years older then she was. She feared that he was not so sure about all this.
They went from talking once every other day to keeping in touch in some form throughout the day. They had become close. They had not met in person. They had not even discussed it. She feared that he would be reluctant to meet.
They only lived forty minutes away from each other. She had time off formwork. She prayed about it and decided that she wanted to meet him in person.she decided to just show up and surprise him.
"Dady. Can I talk to you?" She asked. "Of course honey.what's up?" He asked. "You know. my vacation from work is coming up. ", she said. "Yes, I do." He said."i was wondering if I can go to a Morison for a few days. I want to meet mathew. " she said. "Let me check the car. Yes. I don't see why not " he said. "I won't be alone with him. He is a pastor. He is good friends with Gary and Randa. Pastor Casey knows the family " she said."i have no problem with it. "He said.
" I think its time we met in person." she said, "do you think that this is someone you are really thinking about on a long term base?" He asked. "Yes I do," she said.
Before she finished high school, she had a few crushes. She had not dated since she graduated. She decided to get serious. she decided that she would not date unless she felt that the person was a serious contender to be her future husband. He definitely was.
She decided not to tell him. She wanted to surprise him. She was afraid he would try to talk her out of it. She decided to show up. she would ask forgiveness rather than permission. Besides she liked the idea of surprising him. She liked to be mischievous in a benign way.
There was a cheap motel not far from the church. She made reservations online. She would leave Sunday morning. Saturday was reserved as a family day. She could not wait.
That morning, she woke up early she took a shower. She made coffee and had breakfast. She did her devotions. She was nervous.
She packed the night before. she brought mostly cloths. She brought a King James bible. She knew he would be disappointed if he brought a different one. She brought travel music. She said goodbye to her parents and family. Her dad checked it over with a fine-tooth comb the night before. "Call me when you get there." Her dad said, "I will daddy" She said
"You have our triple a card?" He asked. "I do." She said."you have the emergency numbers?" he asked."i have one in my wallet and one in the glove compartment. "She said. " you charged your phone?" he asked. "It's all charged." She said. "Ok good," he said. She hugged her parents and siblings. She got into the car.
She sang to the car stereo. She was enjoying the ride. It was a nice sunny day. She wore a gray top and blue skirt and flip floor. The skirt went below the knee. She hoped that it was a fundamental baptist enough. She was excited. she got really nervous.
What if he gets upset when she came without asking. what if he thought it was too soon. What if he is really not ready for a relationship. What if he is never ready. What if he really wants to be single all his life and line off the memories of his late wife? What if he won't like her. what if he thinks she is too worldly.
She began to think that this was all a big mistake. She even considered turning around and heading home. She decided to keep going. She did want to to.meet him and his family. She wanted to see his church. She tried to stay calm.
She got nervous when she saw a sign that said, "welcome to Morrison." She saw a sign for the gospel. baptist church. She made it to the motel. She parked the car and clicked in. She was given the key card. She went to her room. She brought her bags in.
She drove to the church. The church used to be a commercial property. It had been an ice cream shop, a restaurant, a hair salon, and multiple other businesses. She parked. She was really really nervous. She took a deep breath.
She walked in. An older man named Jerry gave her a bulletin. "Hello, I am Jerry, welcome to gospel baptist church. " he said."thank you. I am Katie." she said.
She walked to the auditorium. She was greeted by several church members.everyone was really nice. she could not believe that she was really At his church.
The pastor had gotten up that morning. He had no idea what she had been planning. He got the kids up. He got them ready to go. They headed to the church. He was holding Emmi. He had not brought her to the nursery yet. He walked to the hallway. He saw her. It was her. What was she doing here.he went over?
She did not know he had seen her. Their eyes met. He went from stoic to smiling. He had a big smile. She smiled back. "Hi what are you doing here?" He asked. "I came to surprise you. " she said."i am surprised," he said. "I was afraid that if I told you, you. would try to talk me out of it. ", she said. " I am glad you hear," he said. "Don't worry, my dad checked the car and checked it again and again." She said. "I am.glad to hear that. I am retroactively worried." He said. "I am not surprised," she said.
"Is this email?" She asked. "I am an Emmi. i am two" she said. "Wow. I have a brother who is two. His name is Cameron." She said. She picked her up. "How long are you staying?" He asked. "Until Wednesday morning. I am staying at benny's hotel off the interstate. Check out is at 11:30. " she said. "Great. I take Mondays off. I will show you around. " he said "I would like that. " she said."would you like to come over for dinner .we are having lasagna. "He said." I don't want to impose. "She said. " we make enough to feed a small country. "He said." I would love to.thank you" she said.
"I got to get her to the nursery. Good to see you." He said." its good to see you mathew. Excuse me pastor." she said.he left. Emmi waved. She went and sat down. She looked at the program. "Hi. I am Marissa. This is my sister Alesha and my niece Lindsey. " she said "I am Katie. Are you the pastor's sisters?" She asked. "Yes. You know the pastor?" Marissa asked. "Wait! Your the mystery lady he talks to?" Alesha asked."yes that's me. "She said.
" he is very private. We knew that he was talking to someone. "Marissa said. " we gave him his space. We knew we would find out about you soon enough. Can we you?" She asked. of course." she said. "Matt is really. good guy. He comes up as wooden and strict. He is a family man. He is one of the kindest people you will ever meet."Marissa said. " he seems like a sweet man."Katie said. "He really is," Alesha said.
"It could not be easy for him," she remarked. "He shut down for a while. He tried to keep going for the church and for the kids. He does not like to show his feelings. He would rather suffer in silence. We tried to help him mourn in his own way. " Marissa said. "How is he now?" Katie asked." he is slowly bouncing back."Alesha asked. "I am glad. I can't imagine all he went through." She said. "You really care about him?" Marissa asked."i do. We literally just met in person. I very much care about him And his kids.
Sunday school started. He taught on biblical doctrine. He taught the doctrine of salvation. She was an avid note-taker anyway.she took a lot of notes. She liked his insight.
In between services, the pastor came over to her and his sisters. "We have a guest for dinner," he told his sister. "I am not surprised. Your welcome anytime." Marissa told Katie. "Oh, it's not Katie. Walter is coming over " he said." who is Walter?" Katie asked. "I don't know.i made him up." He said. "He wants you to think he is super serious all the time. Don't believe it." Alesha said. "I am pretty silly. So is this one overhear." He said pointing to his daughter Lindsey. "I am not surprised," Katie said.
"Kate, our piano player is not feeling well. She stayed home. Can you play for us?" He asked. "Sure," she said. "We don't always put our visitors to work but often," Marissa said. "It's fine I don't mind," Katie said.
He was glad that she played the piano. She did a good job. She thought that he was testing her. She hoped that she passed. "On the piano today is Katherine granter. She is visiting us from lakeside," he said.
He preached on Romans three. She really enjoyed his message. It was part of a series he was doing on the book of Romans. He preached expositiository, exegetical, and some topical. He liked to go through books of the bible. She took a lot of notes in this service as well.
After the service, several people came up to her. Everyone was really friendly. She finally got to meet the middle child. "You must be Chrissy. I am miss Katie," she said. "Hi miss Katie," she said. She smiled.
"I have six brothers and sisters isters. Two that are older then me. Then the rest are younger. I have a baby sisters who is a couple of months." She said. She showed them a picture of her family. The pastor greeted everyone as they left. After everyone left, they headed to the pastor's house.
Next up
Katie goes to the pastor's house.
