Dee came to pick me up a little after 6 and we headed down to Neptune Beach, which was several blocks down from where myself, Nick and Minh were staying. We were both a bit blurry-eyed, but happy to be meeting up to pray. I wore my UM hoodie and she was wearing her Arkansas hoodie; good thing we were unified through the blood of Christ. Otherwise, there might have been some fighting. :)
We got to the beach and I was expecting it to be virtually deserted (Dee said it was one of her favorite beaches because it's usually less crowded than the other ones). To my surprise, there was a large group of people huddled up on the beach doing something (praying, maybe? Why else would a group of people be up that early on a Saturday? They didn't sound loud and obnoxious, like they had been up all night getting wasted), but they were too far away for me to tell. There were also various people walking and running along the sand. Guess I'm not the only morning person in the world after all! We looked for a place to sit, and eventually nuzzled into a sand dune.
Dee started the prayer off, and as she did the sun began to rise right in front of us. It was breath-taking. We stopped mid-prayer to take pictures and praise God for this incredible display of beauty. Those who make sacrifices to seek God like that are sometimes rewarded in very obvious and immediate ways, and this was one of those times. After she finished, I prayed. I remember thanking God for new beginnings: a new day, a new life in Christ and a renewed relationship with Danielle. I was truly grateful for all three of those things.
After I finished praying, I knew it was time. I was a bit nervous as my thoughts raced to put into words what I wanted to say. Finally, I spoke. I told Dee how I was grateful for the new beginning between her and I, and I wanted to start another new beginning right here and now, with her as my girlfriend. She was more than happy to accept, with her exact words being, "of course." Woohoo!!!
The next 30-45 minutes were a blur...I don't remember what we talked about...I just remember holding her close and her hand in mine. With all that had gone on over the past several months, and especially over the past month, I was very happy that God had brought me to this place. He truly does work all things out for the good of those who love him, even when what He's doing doesn't seem to make sense at the time. Thank you, God. Thank you!
Eventually, we left the beach and went to a local diner where we had a yummy breakfast. Again, I cannot remember all of what we talked about, but I do remember staring into her eyes (with, I'm sure, a big goofy grin on my face), smiling and laughing. For me, it was memorable in all the right ways.
After breakfast, Dee dropped me back off at the guy's place, where Minh and Nick met me and congratulated me (I had text messaged them that Dee had said "yes!"). We got cleaned up and met up with Dee and Sissy a while later to take a day trip to St. Augustine (the oldest city in America).
St. Augustine is a small, quaint, historically rich town about an hour from Jacksonville. We drove down there and spent the afternoon exploring it for all it was worth. We took a tour of a famous fortress, in whom many battles were fought. Amazingly, none of the occupants of that fort ever lost a battle! The fort was right on the water, giving it a clear tactical advantage over any approaching ships. The tour guides were dressed up as the fortress soldiers of the past would have been dressed: in full military uniform with hats and guns. They even performed a cannon-firing demonstration for the crowd! They shot a blank, of course, but it was as loud as the real thing!
After touring the castle, we explored many of St. Augustine's little shops and businesses. We stopped for smoothies and pretzel-dogs (a hot dog covered in pretzel coating...surprising tasty) along the way, as well as stopping at a hammock store to try out the "merchandise."
After coming back from St. Augustine, we came back to Dee's place where we would all hang out and play some games. Some of Dee's friends came over and we all started watching the NCAA basketball semi-finals instead of breaking out the games. I wanted to enjoy the game and talk to the Jax peeps, but my allergies were starting to act up. Although Dee had vacuumed several days ago, Oreo getting to rome around the condo for two whole days gave him plenty of time to put back the dander that Dee had cleaned up. So I started to go into full wheeze mode, and had a terrible time breathing. I tried popping some Benadryl, but they didn't work; they just made me sleepy. Nick, Minh and I ended up leaving earlier than planned, because I was just dying. Despite that, I'd have to say it was a pretty great day. :)
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