The guy in the red Chevy pickup

In honor of our 14 year Anniversary today I thought it only appropriate to share a bit of our love story.

I was only 18 when I started working for a construction company as a flagger and grade checker. I was young and naïve, insecure and trying way too hard to be one of the guys. It didn't take me long to notice this guy, he drove a red Chevy pickup. The guys called him "Red" (aka: Mike). He stood out to me because he always treated me like a lady even when I wasn't acting like one. When the other guys would give me a hard time he would reassure me with a look or a wink. I saw something different in him, a genuine care and compassion.

There was a spark...I guess you could say "Love at first sight". 

We would go months without seeing each other since we each worked on different crews for the company. 

My heart would skip a beat when I would pull up to a job sight and surprisingly see that red Chevy pickup. 

I will never forget the day he asked me if he could take me out for a date. Then he realized our age difference and said he had to at least wait till I was 21. I was impressed by what a gentlemen he was but couldn't imagine waiting months. I think it helped that we didn't see each other every day. We would randomly work together and talk and flirt.

He had a chocolate lab named Zeus and one day at lunch Zeus walked right up to my lunch box and lifted his leg. Of course Mike felt terrible. I didn't really care, his dog could do no wrong as well as him. To this day we joke that Zeus was letting Mike know that he approved of me and was marking his territory.

My sisters heard all about this guy at work and I even named a cat with his last name. There's a story of how I stalked him and killed my Mazda pickup in his apartment complex. Great little memories and silly infatuation!

After dating a few months

After all these years of waiting my 21st Birthday finally came and the following weekend he took me out on our first date. We went to a little bar in Beaverton (they have since tore it down), we drank beer and played darts. Classy, right? It's ours though, our sweet memory and our first date. I figured he wouldn't call me after that first date because that's all I knew. I was jaded and numb, broken and hardened. I told myself it didn't matter if he never spoke to me again at work or never took me out again. Preparing my heart for the worst.

He was different though, different than all the other guys. Just a couple days later he called me and asked me out on another date. We kept it quiet at work around our coworkers for the first month or so. It was mysterious and exciting, our little secret. He always treated me like a lady, respected and cherished me, something I rarely saw in other guys.

Our coworkers didn't have much positive to say as word got out about our relationship. They saw something that we couldn't see, a train wreck waiting to happen. Honestly, we were headed down the wrong road, one of entitlement and an "us against the world" mentality.

The years leading up to our first date were anything but healthy for me. I was living my life solely for the approval of guys. If I got asked out on a date I felt like I was worth something and had value. I had no self respect or moderation when it came to partying.

I carried those destructive ways into our relationship by numbing pain with alcohol and trying to earn love acceptance from Mike. I made up my own rules and rebelled at everything I knew to be right and true. And most importantly,  I would prove everyone wrong that said we wouldn't make it.

The problem with this was it was all about what I could do in my own strength, refusing to look at the deeper issues.

We were two broken hurting people but God saw something different, He saw potential. He was already at work even though we were oblivious

One year later on my birthday Mike got down on one knee at the Flying M ranch and asked me to marry him. Two years after our first date on November 14th we got married at a cute little place in Vancouver, WA. 

Engagement Photo 1998

It wouldn't be real to write a pretty little story of how we met and how he proposed and where we got married. The parts of the story that were hard and rough, those are the parts that makes us who we are today. That is what makes us "Mike and Chelsea". I wouldn't recommend taking the road we did. We've been through some valleys and deserts and seriously rough patches that I thought were going to break us for good. But God is gracious and loving and has had His hand in this from Day 1.

Even though we weren't walking with God when we met we always agreed on one thing. We both wanted someone that was willing to grow and change together. I believe that carried us through a lot. Years later we started seeking God and inviting Him into our marriage and that is when the real growth began. The foundation was being rebuilt.

Growing is a forever process, we are still taking classes and reading books, seeking out tools for our marriage.  

God has changed us both dramatically in the past 19 years. But He's left some things unchanged, like the qualities that attracted me to Mike in the first place. 

He is bold and purpose driven. He doesn't wait to be told what to do, he just moves forward and problem solves. Yet even with that forward momentum he is patient and sensitive. Always understanding of my emotional meltdowns. Listens to my many words ( I think I have more than the average woman) and has great discernment.

I couldn't have asked for a better husband to walk this road of healing with me. And I can honestly say I love him more today than I did 14 years ago because of the blood, sweat and tears we have shared together.

November 14th, 1999

Thanks for reading a part of my story, a piece of my heart.