As some of you may know, Jason and I have quite a long story including many goodbyes. Although there were many goodbyes, we remained close, allowing our friendship to grow. The two of us had no inclination of what God had in store for us, but we let Him take control and write our love story. Here is a poem I (Jason) wrote for Alyssa after one of our first goodbyes as she ran off to college. Although we were not dating at the time God had something in store and this goodbye was only the beginning.
Open your arms to change, but please don't lose yourself.
Your are what makes you who you are;
A friendly atmosphere has made you who you are to be.
Your character is in charge and will control your destiny.
You'll go someplace you've never gone, you'll make your mark again;
You will reset your standards, and sure will make new friends and meet new guys.
As soon as today is yesterday, your heart will always give.
I hope you won't regret today, cause your future longs to live.
You'll look upon your like and see familiar grounds;
You'll hear the call of memories and recognize the sound.
All the lives you change will make stars disappear;
And as you're settled down, you'll realize you've never left here.
And may the road rise up to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face
And until we meet again;
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.
When Jason shared this writing with me, it was a year later, at yet another goodbye. I was moving to Arizona. We were still not dating, but God told him to share that with me. As he handed me that letter I also handed him one. You see we both had feelings for each other, still after all that time, but yet another goodbye. For me, this one was much more difficult. I wanted Jason to come with me so bad, but I knew he couldn't; I wanted to stay with him here so bad, but I knew God was calling me to Arizona, so I couldn't. Instead I said nothing and we parted ways.
This goodbye was different; we would be many more miles away, but I felt as though we (Alyssa and I) would see each other again. I started writing letters to Alyssa, you know the real ones, and she wrote back. We continued to do this for a few months until finally in November of 2008 we decided there have been too many goodbyes and a lot of prayer,now, it's time to start an exclusive dating relationship.
To most, starting a relationship being 2000 miles apart seems impossible or unlikely to last, but we prayed everyday for 3 months prior that God would reveal to us His plan for us and he told us it was time. God knew exactly what he was doing when he brought us together, we just didn't know what he was doing. We just talked, that's it. We talked about past, present, but mostly about the future. God was stirring up in us a special bond, that would never be broken.
Now, living 2000 miles away from each other was not easy. I know at times I (Alyssa) would cry myself to sleep because all I needed was a hug from my boyfriend, but God found ways to comfort me. The first year of our relationship consisted of just talking. We saw each other 3 times throughout that long year apart. Then in October 2009, Jason moved to Arizona. Finally together, no more goodbyes were in the books.
We had a lot of fun in Arizona, but in March of 2010 we were ready to go back home. We drove our separate vehicles the whole 2000 miles, had walkie-talkies and traveled home. Again, God had already written his mastery plan for Alyssa and I, and this was part of it. Once home and living back under each of our parent's roof we were both excited to start getting to know each others families on a more personal level, but we were anxious to get married.
I (Alyssa) would put a lot of pressure on Jason at times, but he was very wise and would always respond with something like "God has brought us this far, he will show us when the right time is to get married". I did trust God, but I just wanted to start my life with Jason as soon as possible, which for me was the next day haha. Well November 24th,2010, the day before Thanksgiving Jason surprised me after work. Now a little background; Jason has been wanting to buy a new hunting bow since April, but I insisted his was fine and that he should save up for something else (hint hint). Well that Wednesday, Nov. 24th, Jason called me at work and sounded excited about something but told me I would be mad. Jason also told me that I should dress up tonight because his whole family (Zeitler side) was going out to dinner at the Barn tavern as they do every year before Thanksgiving. I asked him why I would be upset and he finally told me that he bought a bow. My immediate reaction was disappointment, because I knew he wouldn't have enough money for hint hint for a while ;). I told him I would go home after work, change then meet him at his house. He had other plans :). As I walked out the side door at work (I am one of the last to leave so I lock up every night)I saw a man in all black walking toward me. Now it's 5pm here and very dark already; at first I thought it was Lincoln Patz who also leaves at 5, so I said goodbye and happy thanksgiving. He looked at me weird and then I realized it was Jason. He just said that Katie dropped him off because we had to hurry to the barn tavern and he wanted to ride with me. Well then I saw the case for the bow; I thought to myself "what did he bring that for, he knows I don't want to see it". But he insisted I see it. As he propped it open inside my car I saw beautiful red and white roses lining the case and in the middle of the roses was a little white box. My heart started pounding so fast and hard I couldn't hear what he was saying. He talked for about a minute then got on his knee and asked me to be his wife. I pulled him up by me gave him a hug and kiss and I SAID YES!! The dressing up thing was just a cover because he wore black and a red tie for the proposal, and we didn't have to hurry to the barn tavern. It was such a special moment, one that we will never forget!
God has a plan for everyone and if one has patience He will reveal it to us just as He wants :)
