wysiwyghome.com

by Corevia Flynn

I had no idea when I returned to the Voice of Pentecost that I was going to meet my future husband. I certainly did not know when I joined WYSIWYG that I would be married less than a year later.

On my first day at WYSIWYG, Jerry took me to lunch. After a little coaxing I accepted the offer for a free meal. Ten minutes into the lunch, however, I was a little annoyed because he started asking me about the group I had been a part of when I first started attending VOP five years earlier. The group had recently disbanded so I gave him the answer I had developed to avoid discussing the group and its members. After lunch I was determined not to be in a situation where I had to answer those questions again.

Since we both worked for WYSIWYG we saw each other quite often. One afternoon we were talking and Jerry mentioned that when I attended VOP before he had noticed me but did not say anything because he did not believe my response to him would be positive at the time. I told him I was grateful for his restraint and assured him that he was correct. When I began attending VOP I had just ended a very serious relationship and was not open to meet anyone new. During this conversation he also told me that when I left the church he prayed and asked God that if I came back could we just be friends. I have to admit this was a very unusual thing for me to hear. It is nice to be thought of and to know that someone is praying for you. From that day on I began to watch Jerry.

I wanted to know what kind of person Jerry was. From my observations I found him to be a really kind and generous person who really believed God could do anything. He had a great relationship with his daughter, Tiffany, who also loved the Lord fervently. The things I discovered about him over the following months only made me more interested in him. Every time I had a question about him or his life the Lord began to answer them. Sometimes Jerry would just start talking to me and the question I had would come up in the middle of our conversation. Sometimes other people in the church would provide an answer even though I had never asked the question out loud. So over the months of seeing him everyday and hanging out at different activities with him and other church members, I really began to fall for Jerry.

I began to pray and ask the Lord about him. The Lord continually told me to wait. I really wanted to tell him how I felt because I was certain he felt the same about me but the Lord told me not to say anything to him. The Lord said, “He has to be the one to approach you because you need to know that he is really interested in you.” So I waited. I do not believe that if I had said something to him that God would have severely chastened me. But I do believe that if had been disobedient in this situation it would have taken me a lot longer for me to believe that Jerry really loved me.

As the months progressed I waited daily for Jerry to come to the kitchen where I was helping Sis. Alicia prepare meals for the 3 pm service, and every day he came I was so happy to see him. I had not told anyone how I felt but Sis. Alicia finally asked me one day because she could tell how my demeanor changed when Jerry was around. She became my only confidant. When he went away on a trip for three days and came back in time for Sunday service, I couldn’t wait to see him and give him the biggest hug. I’m sure he was more shocked than me. My emotions were all over the place. At one point I was certain I would have to leave the VOP if Jerry didn’t talk to me soon. Finally, I expressed my concerns to Sis. Alicia and asked her to pray with me. Our prayer was that if Jerry was not interested in me that the feelings I had for him would leave. But if it was God’s will that we be together that Jerry would make his feelings for me clear. After this prayer God gave me peace that everything in my life would work out fine.

During this time, I was preparing to go home for Thanksgiving. I had not been home for three years and I was excited to see everyone. They were all busy trying to introduce me to eligible guys, while I talked about Jerry the whole time, even though I knew there was nothing going on between us besides friendship. I had an excellent visit with my family and although I needed to head to SF for a few weeks, I was anxious to return to Detroit for Christmas.

When I got back from the Thanksgiving trip, Pastor Richard preached a sermon and at the end told each of us to close our eyes and ask the Lord what he wanted us to do this week. The Lord told me to read a fun book. Towards the end of the week I realized I had not done that, so I searched my roommates’ book shelves and the only fun book I found was called, “He’s Just Not That Into You”. The book is supposed to help you determine if a guy is really interested in you. After reading this book I concluded Jerry was just not that into me. I also decided the book was not that much fun to read. By this point I had just about given up having a serious relationship with Jerry. I was so discouraged but I still had peace that all would be well with me.

A week before Christmas I felt the Lord wanted me to sow some money so one of the sisters in the church could get shots for a trip some of the church members needed for a trip to Uganda Africa. This was the money I was planning on using to go to Detroit. So I knew I would end up in San Francisco for Christmas. I began working for a friend at her store in the mall.

One Friday, evening a visiting minister preached about love. He said if you have put having a relationship before the Lord then that is a sin. I heard him but dismissed his words, I did not believe that what he was saying applied to me. However, on Tuesday morning, Christmas Eve day as I was walking to work, the Lord reminded me of Friday’s sermon. I began crying and repenting to the God as I walked down the street. I said, “Lord, I am sorry for putting my desire to have a relationship with Jerry ahead of my relationship with you.” I wiped the tears from my eyes and I walked into work.

Later that day during my break, Jerry called me to see what time I finished working. He asked if I would meet him at the church. I said sure. I was so excited I could not wait for my shift to end. I was sure he was going to tell me he liked me. I started walking home and realized my imagination was running away with me. It could be that he wants me to meet him at the church because he needed gas and wanted to borrow $20. It could literally be anything. So I decided to use me cell phone to call and talk to someone, anyone to get my mind off of what Jerry wanted to tell me at the church.

I called the first number in my phone it was Alicia. This was a big mistake. First she asked if I wanted to come over for a little while. I told her, “No. Jerry asked me to come by the church and then I was going to go home and rest after that. ” She said, “You might be going on a Christmas Eve date.” I told her, “no way.” And said she was mean to even say such a thing knowing how I felt about him. She laughed and said I shouldn’t under-estimate myself. I told her I don’t underestimate myself but there was no way I believed he would ask me out that evening. We hung up and I kept walking.

When I made it to the corner of the street, I ran into a customer from my store. He had purchased a bedtray table for a friend and was taking it to him. I prayed with him that the gift would bring his friend joy and comfort. I also prayed the Lord would heal his friend. As we finished praying, Jerry drove around the corner. I walked over to his car and he offered to drive me home. As we got to the corner of my street he said, “I want to ask you something.” “Sure,” I said. “Would you be willing to go out with me sometime?” he asked. I told him, “I have been waiting for you to ask me out for eight months.” He laughed in disbelief and said, “Well, what are you doing now?” Of course I had no plans so I went with him as he did Christmas Eve Flower Deliveries. When we finished the deliveries we went out for Clam Chowder on Fisherman’s Wharf. I hate Clam Chowder.

A week later, on New Year’s day at sunrise prayer on the top of Mount Tamalpaias, Jerry asked me to marry him. On March,15th we were married. I told the single women at my church that the day Jerry asked me to marry him, every moment, sad moment, I had of waiting and all the bad feelings I had in previous relationships disappeared. The only regret I had was the time I wasted worrying and fretting over whether God really had someone to walk with me. I told Jerry marrying him erased every bad decision I had ever made. With each day we have together I discover that he really is my best friend.