I was a 17 year old junior in high school. I was a popular guy, a starter on the football and baseball team, dating a freshman in college. We were the perfect couple. She was getting good grades and fitting into the University of Miami Ohio nicely, and my grades were on the rise as well. Our families got along; in fact they always made me feel quite welcome. We enjoyed her visits back home from college a lot. We would hang out with her parents, go to dinner, see movies and spend a lot of time together. As you can imagine, our reunions were much like other long distance relationships. And one night when her parents had left for the evening, we engaged in an act that would change the course of our (my) entire lives. What we did, two teenage kids, was engage in something that God intended for married adults. We thought we were adults, I know I did.

Until one night when she had been at school for approximately 6 weeks after our reunion and she called me on the phone. Except this time when I answered the phone “hello” I could hear her crying in the background. I said, “Julie what’s wrong?” She proceeded to tell me that she had missed her period and that she had taken a home pregnancy test. Julie was pregnant. My life that seemed to be on “cruise control” was a wreck in a 5 minute phone call. I felt like my childhood, the one I had worked so hard to move past as fast as I could make it happen, was gone without any chance of getting it back, ever again...

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We met in high school art class. Sam sat behind me, but I didn’t really notice him until later that semester when I was buying my ticket for the Homecoming dance.  As I was about to pay for my ticket a voice from behind asked;  “Why are you buying a single’s ticket?”  I turned around to see Sam, a guy I barely recognized at the time.  After a short conversation about how buying a ticket at the couple’s rate could save us each 50 cents, I followed his hints and agreed to go to the dance with him.

We had a great time together. As the dance was ending Sam pulled me aside and told me how much he liked me.  He said that he could tell that I was different from other girls…for a while I wondered what he meant by that. We went on a few more dates and soon we were girlfriend and boyfriend.  As I spent more time with Sam, I began to notice that he was also a bit different than other guys I knew.  One night as Sam leaned over to kiss me goodnight before dropping me off from a date, I just blurted out; “Why do you think I am different from other girls?”

Sam explained how he recognized that I respected myself and seemed to be cautious and careful when making decisions.  He then told me that he intended to save sex for when he is in love with a women and is married to her.  In that moment I realized that this is what set Sam apart from the other guys I knew.

After graduating from high school, Sam and I attended different universities.   We found that being in a long distance relationship was challenging, but I knew Sam was worth it.  I made many new friends in college. I watched a lot of friends become broken and damaged by relationships in which they gave too much of themselves too quickly. I was thankful for Sam.

After graduating from University, Sam and I got married. Six years may seem like a long time to wait, but it went by quickly.  We were able to save ourselves a lot of worry and stress. I was always comforted in knowing that Sam desired me and not just sex.