THE NEW DEE Blog!!
Hey i'm Devan, most people know me as Dee. I recently married my very best friend, Ethan Thomas Gilbert. May 14th was our big day and it was absolutely wonderful. (Thanks to everyone who helped, took part in it, and came) Besides the day I received the Holyghost that has to be the next best day of my life. We went to the beach for our Honeymoon. Fort Morgan, AL. It was very nice down there, but it wasn't warm enough for my liking.. I about froze the whole time we were there. I had a ton of awesome seafood (: But then it was back home after a week to finally start our life's together. (: I love every minute of it and wouldnt trade it for anything in this world. Ethan is exactly what I have always hoped and prayed for. He completes me and I am very thankful at how the Lord has just worked our life's out...
Let's go on a little trip down memory lane... Ethan and I went to school together at North Sand Mountain. His cousin Sarah and I became best friend and I pretty much lived with her over our 8th grade summer so I was around him and their entire family A LOT. I stayed with his sister during revival and everything but never even thought about him like that. He was just my friend. My ninth grade year at school we became closer.. We talked just about everyday at break... He was my hug buddy (: lol We hugged everyday, just about every time we seen each other at school. Its kinda funny to think about now. (this went on until I graduated) We even were dating other people but would hang out at school dances together and so on... Pretty funny, huh?
Summer before my junior year of high school, I went to Higdon's revival and during prayer meeting (I believe) I went and sat beside him because I knew that he wasn't going to go to the altar and that no one would mess with us or get to us... really because I knew he played football, his girl friend... I knew what kind of life the both of us lived at school and stuff so I never thought at all he'd budge from his seat. Little did I know the night before he gave up his GF and Football and was going to the Lord. EVERYONE, it seemed like the whole church, was coming and hugging him and laying hands on... I suddenly knew I picked the wrong seat. It touched me SOOO much!! He was my buddy and he was going to get the Holyghost. (Something I wanted but wasnt to sure I wanted it then) His sister came and hugged him and he melted he went and made his on altar call and received the wonderful Holyghost! Boyyy was my world torn apart. Brother Totchie told him to go hug his friend.. So he came straight back there hugged me, told me loved me, and knew I could make it!! Ohh Lord it makes my heart race just thinking about it...
We go back to school... Our parking spots were pretty much right beside each, therefore I still talked to everyday. We were still friends and everything the only difference was he was different. He lived a better life now (: He had the Lord! Time rocked on I graduated high school in May 2008. . (Crazy stuff.... My Dad started videoing people hugging and congradulating me after graduation...he didn't start til like half way through and the first person on the video was Ethan coming to Congrat me and give me a hug!! Once again touched me.) Over that summer... He would randomly text me and ask me to go to church with him.. I was always in Chattanooga and was too afraid to go, but I was super thrilled he was thinking of me. On July 4th, I was getting ready to go hang with some friends... Alexis was getting ready to go to church and came in my room and said "Are you not going to church?" I was like No why? she said "Your not going to go watch me get the Holyghost?" Completely stopped me in my tracks!!!! I was like WHAT?? Your going to get the Holyghost... She just said who knows and walked out.. I brushed it off and went on my way...
Later that night I had some missed calls as soon as I seen it was from April Golden (whom at the time I didn't really talk to that often) I knew (I felt it) Alexis got the HG! Sure enough I called and she had. I started crying... it killed me. I was with "my friends" but i didn't even care. I told them, of course they didn't understand. I was MISERABLE the rest of the night. I tried to go swimming have some fun and it was awful!! I finally just went home.
I finally went to church at Pisgah one night... I can still picture it in my mind. There was a HUGE crowd there. I went in and set down on the second bench thinking I could blend in..YEAH RIGHT!! lol... There was SO many young kids with the Holyghost including Lexi (whom I hadnt seen testify yet, I dont believe) And Ethan was there (: Well Lexi testified Broke me Down!! I was sitting there thinking in my mind Lord just let Ethan testify, just let Ethan testify.. First off it looked like there was absolutely NO way to get to me there was a ton of men (where the whole church was pretty much forming the "Big Circle" and they were blocking the way back to where I was.) I could barely just see the top of peoples heads.... ANYWAY... Ethan testfied!!! He starting walking around and was looking over my way.. I knew he was going to come hug me... I immediately starting thinking Oh No, Oh NO! lol He made his way through the cowd of men.. Hugged me, told me he loved me, and he knew I wanted it and could make it!! Once again TORE ME UP!!! (But it was just the Lord working everything out and breaking me down.) A little later I went to Ider one night and the Lord didn't look at me and Ethan wasn't there... So i was like not too happy and wasn't going to go back to church the rest of the summer!!
August 3rd, Dad's birthday. I was in Chattanooga woke up and wasnt about to go to church (which i would normally do for his bday)... So i started to head to the mall and the Lord knew my intentions weren't good... I had a wreck on the way! (My very BRAND NEW CAR!!!! ON DAD'S BIRTHDAY!!!) Scared me to death... My grandparents took me to meet the rest of the fam to eat for his birthday and I was terrified of telling my Dad what had happened... So i waited til the party was over and told him... He didnt get upset (in front of me) or anything. He asked if I was okay and went on home! That upset me so much more then if he had blessed me out or wore me out lol... We went home and sat around..
Blake Golden and his family headed over to the house to get Lexi and Kris to go to church with them at Sylvania. I seen that Blake was ACTUALLY going to church so I was like Dad why don't we just go. I borrowed some clothes of Lexi and we all headed to church. Never had I been there before... I went in with my makeup, piercings, finger nail polish...etc. ANd the Lord started dealing with me. Brother James McLain got up and had a newspaper article talking about a college in TN that was putting chips in students hands and doing away with their social's and information...that's how they were keeping up with them.. This was a school I had looked into going to... Totally touched homebase with me and scared me to death.. Condemnation just fell on me!! He read in the Bible about the mark being put in people's hands and foreheads toward the end of time and sooo on... I have no idea what else he said... not acknowledging what I was doing I started taking off jewlry... removing earrings...Trying to scrape my nail polish off, etc. The Lord was working with me more than he ever had before and I didn't want anything else but the Holyghost!!!! I asked the Lord a few things like let this one lay hands on me if I should go to the altar and stuff like that... Every one of them happened!! I knew it was my time.
The worry I always had was I did NOT want to have to go to the altar a billion times... I wanted to go and get the Holyghost!!! I was bound and determined that night that I was not going to get up without the Holyghost and that's exactly what I did! About 2 and half hours later I believed what the Lord was doing for me and he just mercifully gave me the gift of the Holyghost!!!! I cannot even explain the feeling I felt and still feel today.. Unless you've felt it before you could never imagine... I highly recommend it (: I still remember going to the bathroom and looking in the mirror... I was like WOW i look sooo different.. Brighter!! It was funny. Sister Linda asked me who I wanted her to call I immediately said YOU HAVE TO CALL ETHAN!! CALL ETHAN GILBERT!! It was pretty late.. He was already in the bed lol.. But he defnitely got up.. Everyone met at Derrick Higdon's house to see me and it was wonderful!!! (: (: (: (:
Not long after that Ethan and I was talking all the time..hanging out.. Eventually started dating! We dated a year and broke up.. Which was totally what the Lord had planned for us. That's what we needed.. It was just all a part of the plan (: At the moment it seemed like the end of the world for me I was so crushed but the Lord helped me. Looking back on it he just carried me through that time and I progressively seen that no matter what or how the Lord would work everything out exactly in his will and time. I started thinking on that.. And living on that til I soon didn't care either way how things worked in the future. I just wanted his will to be done. If it wasn't meant for Ethan and I then that was perfectly okay. If it was meant for us that was perfectly okay. Although the whole time in my heart I always felt like he was right for me... I just let it all go and work out on its own.
A year to the day we broke up he started talking to me again... Telling me how we needed that.. He needed that (which I already knew).. It helped him to realize what we really had. And how much he truly missed me! I wasnt up to the idea of dating him just yet... simply because I was so hurt before. I was just be careful, ya know? And he understood. We took everything slowly...or tried lol. We'd talk all the time about EVERYTHING. Got everything cleared up.. No more hurt feelings. We knew that the broke up had to happen and was thankful for it. A month and a half went by.. He asked me one last time to be his girlfriend (it was sooo sweet) and once again my heart is racing thinking back to this. After 6 months of dating... On January 1, 2011 at like 5 in the morning he asked me to marry him!!!!!! OF course I said Yes!! (: and now we have been married for almost 3 months!!
One of our engagement pictures
Soo Happy!!!
Is it not just amazing at how the Lord works things out. When you FULLY hand it over to him and WAIT on him he will send you exactly what you need. He'll work his plan for your life out in his time. It didn't take just a day for me to realize that and No it was not the easiest thing in the world to do either but I when I finally put my trust in him, he just met me!! If I can just remember this in everything else in our life's now lol.... I need to take my own advise now. (: Let the Lord take over and handle everything.
Well i guess I need to quit going on and on... and Get to lunch!! If you have read all this you are truly a friend and thank you! (:
Until next time...
Dee
