Welcome Mat Wednesday: Lindsay Harrel

Yaaay, for Lindsay Harrel being today’s Welcome Mat Wednesday guest!!

Okay, so here’s the thing–I sorta love the Internet. I love the Internet because of people like Lindsay Harrel. She may live on the other side of the country, but we’re connected by the awesomeness of the World Wide Web. Thank you, person who is not Al Gore who invented the Internet.

And thank you, Lindsay, for being such a fun blessing in my life! Lindsay is a writer with an awesome blog.This month all our guests are writing about different aspects of friendship. And Lindsay takes us the romantic route…

Friendship: The Stuff of Good Romance

I think everyone has a favorite “type” of romance.

Strangers who meet on a train and it’s love at first sight.

Co-workers forced to work together—even though they hate each other—and yet, somehow, they find the other’s annoying habits aren’t so annoying after all.

Opposites who don’t attract at first but are magnets at the end.

But me?

I think the most romantic thing in the world is when two friends fall in love. These are my favorite types of love stories to read in a novel or watch unfold on the big screen.

My favorite of all time? The love story between Anne Shirley and Gilbert Blythe.*

Of course, I may be slightly partial to this kind of romance…because I married my best friend.

Mike and I met at a church activity our junior year of high school. He was a tall, quiet guy who I tried to boss around. (He’s less shy now and we boss each other around…I mean, we agree on everything. Ha.) He told me later that he liked me the first night he met me. *Awww*

But at the time, I was dating someone else.

I went away to college for my freshman year. I’d see Mike on the weekends when I would drive home and attend college group at church. He’d always greet me with a smile and we’d chat. Nothing extensive. Just a budding friendship.

Then, due to various life circumstances, I made the decision to move back to Phoenix to attend the same university Mike attended, so I asked him all about it and he offered to meet me on my first day and show me around.

Yep, I still had no clue that he liked me. Dense of me much?

Mike and I hung out in the same group of friends: riding the bus together, eating lunch together, holding game nights nearly every weekend together. He was always there, encouraging all of us and being all around one of the best guys I knew.

Yet, I still saw him as only a friend.

At one point, unbeknownst to me, Mike talked with his parents about asking me out. They advised against it, because I was going through a rough time with my mom being sick.

So he waited. And waited. And waited. He waited until I was in a place where I could offer my heart, without it being crushed by life and disappointment. He waited until I was in a place where God had begun to heal me. And all the while, we grew closer, talking about our favorite books, our mutual passion for music, our favorite Bible passages.

When I thought about all the guys I knew, he was the one I respected most.

So when he asked me out, I was shocked. When he told me he had basically waited for four years to ask me out, I was floored.

And yet, my heart did not feel anything romantic for him.

So I prayed. He prayed.

And slowly, God awakened a love in me that I’d never known before. Slowly, Mike became more than a friend to me.

I think what I love most is that he WAS my friend first. He knew my flaws—he had since before we even started dating—and yet, despite all that, he still chose me.

Just like Gilbert chose Anne despite her temper, her flighty notions of love, and her reservations.

Yep, no question. I got myself my very own Gilbert Blythe. And our love is more than I ever dreamed it could be.

Your Turn: What’s your favorite type of romance to read or see on the big screen?
*For those who don’t know, these are the main characters from the Anne of Green Gables series by Lucy Maud Montgomery. If you have never read or seen this series, get thee to a bookstore or Blockbuster!

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    Comments 36

    1. I knew EXACTLY who you were talking about, because those are my favorite books of all time! In fact, when my grandmother passed away, I told my mom that I really, really wanted her copies – and she made sure it happened.

      I can identify with your story, because it’s so similar to mine. I met my husband at college, but we were “just friends” for a year before we started dating. In fact, one of my friends wanted to date him (and tried to set me up with his roommate!) but the two of us just hit it off so much better. He’s still my best friend!

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    2. I completely agree with you – I married my best friend too! We met in High School but didn’t date until the end of our junior year of college. Our tagline for years was “just friends” when people would ask if we were dating…they all seemed to know we were supposed to end up together. So blessed God had him for me!

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      3. When I was about 19 God let me know Doug was “the one”…but it took us a few years to both get on the same page:) But the people around us always seemed to know. And yeah, I guess our tagline changed to “more than just friends!”

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      2. Oh, it definitely was a fun get together. I’m actually sitting in the airport right now waiting for my flight home. I’m sad our awesome retreat week is over…but so excited to see a few of them again at Blue Ridge in a couple weeks…and at ACFW in May!

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      1. So fun to have you here, Lindsay! It only made sense to do an intro for your video with friends…since our theme is friendship. 🙂 I’m so excited to get to actually meet you in person at ACFW – we’re going to have a blast. And you’ll get to meet LJ, Susie, Edie and Rachel and so many more amazing people, too. Fun!!!

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      1. Haha, it was definitely the silliest welcome mat video ever. 🙂 I forewarned Lindsay via email that her video was shorter than some in the past (because we kept laughing as we made it), but it definitely has the most silliness. 🙂

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    6. Ya’ll had so much fun! I’m so glad! Yay for having Linds! I love her too! What a fabulous story. I think that is my favorite kind of romance. When the hero is patient and loves for a long time. It’s a swoon kind of feeling. Not everyone waits. Sticks around, or is determined. 🙂

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    7. Ah, so sweet! I love this type of romance too because I married my best friend as well. We knew each other in high school, but didn’t date until like six years later. I also like the type where the hero and heroine are at odds at first, sort of like Anne and Gil. 🙂

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    8. I smiled from the moment I hopped on Melissa blog until now! What a fun post. 🙂

      Lindsay, I also married my best friend. We met when we were 16 – so this year (we’ve both just turned 32) we’ve known each other for half of our lives! Crazy how fast the second half has gone and how much we’ve seen and done together. Ironically, all my siblings married their high school sweethearts – and my parents were married when they were 17 because of an unplanned pregnancy, but 38 years later they are still going strong! Thanks for sharing your story today. 🙂

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      1. How fun that you’ve known each other for half of your lives! We’ll be there in about 4-5 years, I guess. That’s kind of scary!! And awesome. Thanks for sharing your story, too. 🙂

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    10. Making that video was so much!! Who knew vlogging was so easy…I may have to try it. Maybe.

      LindsAy, I LOVE your story!! My husband and I were friends before we dated, then we dated long distance via letters and phone calls while he was a hot Marine stationed 6 hours from me. Our friendship bloomed into romance.

      My current WIP is a friends falling in love story.

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      1. It was so cool to see you, Lisa! Thanks for welcoming me so warmly!

        And that’s sooo sweet. Letters and phone calls that bloomed into romance. The makings of a great story, that’s for sure. 😉

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    13. I love this post, and I love Lindsay! I like to read pretty much all the standard romance “cute meets,” but I have to agree that there’s something special about a romance between friends. What a great story you and your husband have, Lindsay. 🙂

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