**In honor of our 12 year “Dating” Anniversary, I wanted to write out the Story of Us….
………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
While Joey will tell you he remembers the moment I walked into the band room, our freshman year of high school, and the exact outfit I had on, I have to admit that during our freshman year of high school I had no idea who Joey Colson was. In fact, my first memory of Joey was during our 10th grade year. He was tall, skinny, quiet, and very kind. He also had a reputation as a pretty solid Christian. So, it doesn’t surprise me that the moment that sticks out to me when I really noticed him was when, during a band practice, I was saying some things a good Christian girl really shouldn’t say, and Joey, knowing I was a PK (pastor’s kid), looked me directly in the eye and without even saying a word, pointed to his What Would Jesus Do bracelet. Although I knew he was right, it annoyed me, but one thing is for certain, I now knew who Joey Colson was, and he had my attention.
That year we continued to interact, and found that we had a few classes the same. Joey was the class genius, who was naturally gifted in all things academic, yet still quiet and humble. I was the girl in the honors classes who worked and worked and clawed my way through with work ethic and my own drive to try to be among the best. We were in some of the same classes, but very different students!
The end of sophomore year came and went, and Joey and I had established a good friendship. Besides, we were both very much into band, and Joey had been selected as the drum major for the following year, while I was one of the squad leaders for the trumpet section. So, we had that much in common.
That summer, just before school started back, I was in Florida with my parents, and my sister called to give me a message that a boy named Joey had called. I couldn’t tell you why then, but I got VERY excited to know he had called and couldn’t wait to call him back! My parents just smiled, and I’m thinking they knew then way more than I did about this Joey Colson and how he would be an integral part of my life!
So I called him, and we talked on the phone for hours. School got started, and not only did we spend countless hours a week in marching band rehearsals (where I loved to watch him conduct and be such a leader in his own very humble way), but as it would turn out, we had even more classes together. We were in Driver’s Ed together, and were actually paired up as driving partners – I tell him I’m still the better driver :) We sat right across from each other in computer class, and I desperately needed his help in our math class! So, our friendship continued, but in high school you get those warm fuzzies for that “special someone” and boy did I have them for Joey Colson!
Finally, Joey explained to me that he had similar feelings, but didn’t feel we should start “going out” until band season was officially over. And that’s exactly how it happened. After our last marching competition for the year, on November 1st, we had a long bus ride home, and we were sitting together, and he finally said “will you be my girlfriend”, which seems so funny now but back then was just oh so romantic :) Of course I said “yes” and we were “official.” Not too long after the news spread through the bus, entire groups of students started belting out loud renditions of “Going to the Chapel.” How funny that 5 years later, we really did.
Throughout our Junior and Senior years, Joey continued to impress me. He sharpened me spiritually, upheld a phenomenal testimony at school, and excelled academically, ultimately ending up with a nearly perfect SAT score and as the class Valedictorian. To say I was one proud girlfriend would be a complete understatement. He had hundreds of thousands of dollars in scholarships to any school he wanted to go to, but I will never forget the afternoon he sat down with me and said that because he felt led to go into full time ministry, he wanted to go to Liberty. He didn’t have nearly as much scholarship money for this school, would actually have to take out a student loan, and he would be 7 hours away. I was familiar with Liberty because my sisters had gone there, and wanted to go there myself, but didn’t have the funds available, so I knew what he was saying was that we would be apart for at least a year until I could transfer up, but this is what he had to do. We enjoyed our time together, and before he left he gave me a Promise Ring, and we knew we’d be ok, but I still have etched perfectly in my memory the day he drove off to LU in his Jeep. I sobbed for hours I think!
I stayed home and went to school at Charleston Southern for a year on a full ride, took nearly double a full load of classes, and worked as hard as I could to save money. Actually, most of my money went to pay the phone bills for all of our long distance calling from Lynchburg, VA to Goose Creek, SC! It was a difficult year, but we remained solid, and actually grew a ton from it, and it only solidified that Joey was the man God had for me.
In the fall of 2001 we both headed to Liberty together. It was a great year, we were both on hall leadership, and actually had been chosen to be Resident Assistants (RAs) the following year. The even better news though, was that I had doubled up so much on my courses at CSU, I was going to be able to graduate after just two years at Liberty, three years total. And, because Joey had transferred in so many college credits from high school, he would only need one semester beyond me. To us, finishing early meant one thing – WEDDING BELLS!
The summer of 2002 Joey worked three jobs, including interning at our church, and I only realized later that he was working to pay off a gorgeous ring that he would give me later that summer!!! He proposed to me on the beach, near the exact same spots he had told me he loved me for the first time, and given me my promise ring just years before. I need to stop here and explain that getting permission from my dad to marry me was no difficult task for Joey – to say my family adored him would be a complete understatement. They loved Joey so much, that at one point my mom told me that if I ever broke up with him they were keeping HIM! My dad and Joey were the best of friends, and dad knew, probably far earlier than Joey and I ever even did, that he was the man God had made just for me.
We returned to Liberty for what would be my senior year, and Joey’s almost senior year. We were RA’s, planning a wedding, in the toughest courses of our schooling, and I was working to write my senior honor’s thesis. It was a very difficult year, but we just kept focused on the goal… May 31st! That, and God’s grace, are I’m pretty sure all that got us through that year! But, graduation came, I got my diploma, and just two weeks later we got married on May 31st, 2003! I can honestly say that day was a dream come true, and I really did marry my best friend.
After getting married we returned to Lynchburg, VA so Joey could get his seminary degree. We both were working, and had our entire set of “plans” ready to go. Joey was on track to finish Seminary in two years, we knew exactly when we wanted to start a family, were saving what we could, and in two years we’d head to a church for full time ministry.
It’s funny though, even when our own plans seems so “perfect,” God allows for other plans, and on June 22, 2005, just after our 2 year wedding anniversary, Joey was diagnosed with Rhabdomyosarcoma. This very rare, highly malignant cancer was a shock to everyone. Joey was so healthy, and all he wanted to do was serve Him in ministry. The doctors’ perspectives were grim, and at one point it seemed they were hopeless as statistics basically suggested we should get Joey’s affairs in order. In addition, we were told that if by chance he did survive, having biological children would be next to impossible.
We decided to fight his cancer, and after two surgeries, a year of hospitalized chemotherapy treatments, six weeks of daily radiation treatments, more drugs than I can even describe, and the fervent prayers of thousands of believers, Joey walked out of the University of Virginia hospital on June 1, 2006 cancer free – just one day after our 3 year wedding anniversary. I could never put into words all that I saw Joey go through that year – the pain, the burns, the comatose days, the sickness – but yet through it all he never complained, he always smiled, and he shared the love of Christ with his nurses, doctors, and other cancer patients. My husband is absolutely my hero, my walking miracle from God, and a steadfast example of faith.
Once Joey was completely done with treatments, we tried to find our new “normal.” Slowly, Joey returned to work, and eventually, started his schooling back up. He still knew that God wanted him in ministry, and he was determined to finish that Seminary degree. Since I knew we had some time in Lynchburg, I also pursued my Masters from the University of Virginia during that time, so we both enjoyed late nights of school work together.
In 2007, Joey and I decided we wanted to see if we could start a family. One of Joey’s cancer doctors, in great wisdom because we were so young, had the foresight to send Joey to a fertility doctor prior to starting his chemotherapy. This would allow us at least a few attempts to have a biological child. So, we went back to meet with those same doctors, and the fertility treatment process began. We had no idea what a roller coaster we were in for. The first treatment worked, but we miscarried. After several more tries, God blessed us with a healthy pregnancy, and we were due November 2008.
By the spring of 2008 Joey and I were both ready to graduate. I graduated with a Masters of Education from the University of Virginia, and Joey finally got his Masters of Arts in Religion and Church Ministries. We were elated! Next up, it was time to prepare for our little Abigail Mia to make her appearance a few months later. In preparation for Abigail, I quit my full time job as a teacher, and taught courses part time as an adjunct professor for Liberty. Then, in November, after not knowing if we’d ever have our own little baby, Abigail Mia Colson was born. A lot of people say Abigail is our miracle baby, and while every baby is a precious miracle from God, I’d have to agree that she was our special miracle.
I became a full time stay at home mommy, teaching part time online, and Joey continued to work at Liberty. We knew God had an ultimate plan for us, but for now, Lynchburg was where we needed to be. Joey’s doctors were there, and Joey’s health insurance was locked into his job at Liberty. So, we continued to enjoy our time there and grow as a family.
During April 2009, Joey and I witnessed my dad’s health steadily decline, and as both of us were so close to him, this was a difficult time for both of us. Dad passed away that April, and Joey and I felt a huge sadness and void, but it caused us to really start focusing on things of eternal value and lasting significance. What did God have in store for us? What could we do to minister to others and leave a legacy? By the fall of 2009, Joey and I both felt that God was moving in our hearts, and that our time in Lynchburg would soon be coming to a close. We didn’t know exactly what that would look like, but we just felt burdened that it was going to be time to move on. So, we began earnestly praying that God would show us exactly what He wanted for us and give us total peace about His plan for us.
By January of 2010, we were still waiting to know exactly what God would have for us, but decided that while we were in Lynchburg to talk to the fertility doctors again. They thought that we had at least a few more tries to have another biological child, but we all knew those tries were very limited and then that would be it. We got pregnant on the second try, only to miscarry that baby. After that, we knew we only had one try left, so we decided to take a break for a few months.
During this time, Joey got a phone call to come down to Hartsville and check out a church that had an opening for a Worship Pastor spot. It was an open door, and a church we were familiar with, and we went, praying that God would either open or shut the doors so we clearly knew His plan for us.
After visiting the church, we returned to Lynchburg and during that time attempted our very last try at having a baby. We got pregnant with multiples, only to miscarry all but one, but God has seen fit to let that little fighter continue to thrive and survive - Another precious miracle in our lives due May 12, 2011.
So, fast forward 12 years later to today, 12 years since a quiet, kind, blond boy asked me to be his girlfriend, and here we are. We are in Hartsville, SC. Joey is working in a great church, we’ve been blessed with an amazing little girl, another baby on the way, and I can honestly say that I am married to my absolute best friend, and while these past 12 years, especially these past 7 years have been one incredible journey, I couldn’t have done it with anyone else by my side. God has truly blessed me to have such an incredible husband, and I can’t wait to see how the Story of Us continues to unfold….
