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Greg's Story

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How I Became the Luckiest Man on Earth
It was a cold winter night…Nah it wasn’t. It was actually a rather hot afternoon on July 5, 2012 when I asked Asia if we could begin pursuing a courtship relationship. How’d it happen? God humbled my heart and challenged my obedience.
Pre-July 2012, Asia and I were not necessarily on the best of terms as far as friendship goes. Since I’ve known her, I’ve always had respect for her as a woman of God. I thought “Whoever pursues her is gonna have a real champ. He has to be the real deal because homegirl ain’t playin any games in this Christian walk.” However, she and I didn’t get along very well. I was a jerk, to put it mildly and plainly, and she obviously didn’t like that. Somehow, around April 2012, I heard from a friend that she thought I would be her husband in the future. I don’t know if I’ve ever been more opposed to anything in my life. I said “No. Heck no.” We just didn’t get along. I knew she was a woman of God and (spiritually) the type of woman I wanted to marry, but I just did not get along with her.
Around that same time, I began to pray for humility and asked my close friends to pray for me as well. I had no clue what I was asking for. Early that summer, May-Juneish, I began to do a lot of reading on biblical courtship and what to look for in a woman. Each time I read something, Asia would pop into my mind and I’d just say “Nope” and keep moving. By this time, I wasn’t as opposed to the notion as I was initially, but I felt like the physical attraction wasn’t strong enough. Don’t get me wrong, I never thought Asia was unattractive. There were even times when I thought she was rather lovely, but there was no jaw-dropping, irresistible physical attraction on my end and I thought that was necessary.
It was at this point that God made me look in the mirror and ask myself what I thought real beauty was. I realized that because of my struggles with pornography, my perception of beauty was deluded. My heart was full of desires to marry a Christian woman who had a pornstar figure. By the time I recognized this and began to pray about it, it was near the end of June.
God began to show me my pride, answering my prayers and the prayers of my friends. The issue that presented itself would be best expressed as a dialogue. God would ask me “So, are gonna pursue Asia?” “Probably not,” I’d respond. “Why not,” He’d ask. That’s when it hit me. I had no reason not to pursue her. She was everything I was looking for and more spiritually, and I knew pursuing her would encourage me to step my game up. Every reason I had not to pursue her had been nullified. God was calling me to pursue her. Even though that made me uncomfortable, there was an unmistakable peace in my heart, the same peace I felt when I felt God calling me to pursue ministry.
So, I asked her if we could talk. We were supposed to talk on the 4th, but that didn’t work out, so I called her on July 5, 2012. I asked her if I could pursue courtship with her. She seemed hesitant at first, but after we shared our stories we decided to obey what we believed God was telling us to do.
The greatest blessing in my life (outside of my family and my conversion) came as an opportunity for obedience. I thank God for the faith He gave me to trust Him and obey.

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