HOW I KNEW JACOB WAS 'THE ONE'

A little about our background...

Jacob and I have known each other from the beginning of high school when I moved from Sydney to Wollongong and started to attend his high school. We began to get to know each other when our year 7 class was forced to sit 'boy girl boy girl' as a form of punishment. I remember Jacob constantly making me laugh. You know that school girl giggle that you try and hold in so the teacher doesn't get you in trouble? Yep that was me. Although I found him funny, I also thought he was a bit weird yet he developed a little crush on me. It was at this time we discovered we made a great team for we were always working together and finishing our math work far before anyone else. Despite our little forced connection here however, we didn't take much notice of each other until our final year of high school (5 years later).

It was in this year that we started to spend more time together. We were both youth leaders at our church, ran life groups in our school and had many classes together. I guess Jacob began to take notice of me and developed feelings for me. I, however, was completely unaware. Jacobs friends would often joke about us being a couple and me being his 'wifey' however I never suspected it to be more than a joke until Jacob asked me to have dinner with him around September of 2016 (as our final exams were approaching). It was just before this time I had discovered that Jacob was also moving to Sydney to study at Hillsong College the following year just as I was. When he asked me out for the first time and suggested that it'd be a good idea for us to get to know each other because of this, I agreed. By the way, at this point I had no intention of it being more than a friendship, I thought Jacob was a great guy but just didn't see us developing a romantic connection.

Our first date...

We talked and talked and talked. It was amazing getting to know more about Jacob- his goals and aspirations, talents and life experiences. I hadn't really known much about him for he was so quiet. Yet from this dinner I began to see the person he really was (a gentle, servant-hearted, kind and generous man of God).

So when did it shift from 'friend' to 'I have feelings'?

I guess the more I hung out with Jacob one-on-one, the more I got to know him and saw that he complimented my personality and lifestyle. We without a doubt had and still have differences, yet we still compliment each other and our lives were headed in the same direction (the desire to work full time in Ministry).

Now, what you're really here for, how I knew he was 'THE ONE'

After ending a year and a half long relationship 8 months before this, I was adamant to God that I could never do that again. I carried so much guilt and shame from breaking the other persons heart that I couldn't possibly do it to another person. I asked that God would make it so clear to me who my husband would be so that when it came to deciding to date, I wouldn't for a second doubt if it was a good idea. I hence expected that God would do this, as He has for many others (I mean we've all heard the stories right?). But for me that wasn't the case. I remember often sitting on my bedroom floor whilst Jacob and I had begun to hang out asking God "God yes or no, is he the one?" Yet I never got an answer, I only felt peace. I decided that I didn't want to have to initiate anything with Jacob, if he wanted to spend time with me, he would have to pursue me and initiate each gathering, and he did. With each gathering I'd ask God for direction and wisdom as I really didn't want to pursue something that wasn't going to last a lifetime. And each time I simply felt peace, so I began to pursue it also.

I remember making it so clear to Jacob before we dated that wherever God wanted me to go I was going to go without a question. I told him "If we are going to date you have to be okay with that", and he was. You see for me it wasn't a clear 'YES', it was a matter of feeling peace, evaluating if we complimented each other and if our lives were headed in the same direction (taking it one step at a time). All of these things lined up.

I don't exactly know where I stand on the idea of there being one specific soul mate for each individual, but I do believe that you can fall in love with someone and make it last a lifetime. So don't get stressed by the concept of finding the one specific soul mate you've been destined to marry. Rather approach it with wisdom, guidance and whether or not you carry a Godly peace about it.

Hope that helps! Feel free to email me if you have any questions regarding this topic and our story!