Introduction

There comes a time in each and every new relationship where one person sticks out that hand - a show of potential friendship, and proof of being unarmed.  This, friends, is that time.  My hands, for one, are freshly washed, I've showered for the day, and I'm about as normal as I'll ever appear, so, please allow me to introduce myself.

My name is Rebecca Godlove, but up until January 9, 2010, I was Rebecca Thielet.  This blog will likely trail behind me like a fearless, wagging puppy on my adventures through the early years of marriage.  There may be times when I will have to clean up after it, but I should hope it will bring me mostly pleasure.  The blog, I mean, not the marriage.  Well...I guess, when you think about it...probably both.

I will likely end up telling the story of my life, at least to begin with, with notes posted on other social networking sites.  But it's a lot to handle all at once so I don't plan on burdening anyone with those details right away.  Let's talk later about who I was, but right now about who I am.

I'm was very recently married to a wonderful man named Ross who happens to spoil me more than any man ought to, who is silly and loving and hard-working and all those things that parents pray for their daughters find in a man.  Ross loves Dr. Pepper, fast cars, the Iowa Hawkeyes, Twinkies, and Siberian Huskies.  What makes Ross who he is, however, is his love for Jesus.  And that is what made me fall in love with him.  It's the first thing you notice when you meet him, even if you can't quite identify it.  It shines more brightly than his wonderful bald head.  It's more brilliant than his bright blue eyes.  This man loves his Lord with all his heart and it shows in everything he does - every sacrifice he makes, every gift he gives, every word he speaks.  

And yet he married me.  Poor dear.

Who am I, then?  I'm a work in progress - a messed-up pile of laziness, pride and fear smooshed together with hope, compassion and cautious joy.  I spent years trying to make my words sound like someone else's, trying to force my words out of other people's mouths - or speaking their words out of my own.  I worried because I did not 'sound' like a Christian, nor did I 'sound' like a heathen.  My plays and short stories featured poorly-written characters who, like me, were dragged back and forth between humility and vanity, heaven and hell, acceptance and rejection.  I possessed too much sarcasm for a 'good' Christian and too many virtues to be a 'normal' college student.  I spent too much time sitting on the fence and I ended up feeling mighty uncomfortable.  I am only now coming to realize the things God has in store for me and the plans he has had written for millennia concerning my life. 

Maybe I'm being too vague.

I'm a woman who never could have found true love if Jesus hadn't found me first.  I'm a writer who sometimes totally sucks at writing.  I'm a daughter who needs to call and write home more often.  I'm a wife who's both excited and petrified to be a mother someday.  I'm a lover who's sometimes loved the wrong things, only to have to fight for the ones promised me.  I'm a banker who isn't particularly good at math.  I'm a singer who sings most loudly when no one is listening.

I'm Rebecca Godlove, and I am very pleased to meet you.