And they lived happily ever after. The End.

I want to start with the end of my weekend.
1:00am and we cross over the new Cooper River Bridge. In years past the Bohemians would only cross over this bridge in our 'unmentionables' because that is what Bohemian women do. We would roll daown the windows and sing to our latest fling, Jack Johnson. I can't give you anymore details or else I'd have to kill you. It's sacred charleston-bohemian ritual. Needless, this night we skipped an adventure on the bridge for something greater. Fran mentions that we should go to the beach. We make the 5 mile trek across the low country in between Mt. Pleasant and Sullivans Only a few tall lights are shining and you can feel the reflection of the moon off the water. There are no condos on Sullivans. No Taco Bells. Just houses. The houses are pretty far off the shore too so really there is nothing but beach. We dont hesitate a second at the sound of Fran's proposal. Well, until we stepped foot onto the powdery sand. A fairly remote beach like Sullivans is dark at night. The light house is 100 yards to our right and about every 40 seconds the light passes over us. It seems to come quickly until you are walking onto the beach and it is dark and you want to believe no one else is there. I was scared - I wont lie. We each walked arm and arm until we were out of our comfort zone and far away from any man-made light. The breeze, were I with a boy of interest was perfect.....just enough to give you reason to move closer. For the three of us we were trying to hold back the shivers.
We stood for a good while just breathing in the stillness of the beach. And then we prayed. We stood and prayed arm and arm. We thanked God for the gift of friendship and for the bonds that He created years ago. If I could wrap up some moments in life and put them in a jar with a lid this would be one of them. Everything about the setting seemed to be put out just for us right before we made the long, slow, chilly trek to the water.

Every part of our beloved city has significance. I admit - when I go back I feel as though the city comes alive just for us. I know my love for Charleston has alot to do with the charm and demeanor of the port city. It has alot more to do with the confidence that God gave me that summer. It was a genuine confidence routed in that which Pererveres. God truly provided that summer in ways we couldn't have fathomed. I learned that summer that I would be different and that these friends would be different than any others. I learned that I was going to be used even if I messed up or turned a wrong way - He wanted to use us beyond our imagination. And the comforting thing is we are still being used and our story has really just begun.