Finding Purpose

Hello Blog Friends!

I hope each of you had a great week, and an even better weekend! For some of us, this was the first week of school, which means BUSY! Jason and I both started classes again, and we officially have the first 5 days of school down, which I am considering a huge accomplishment since we set up our schedules to be the same so I could push him to and from every class. We even managed to make it to all of our classes on time!

Most of my week has been jam-packed, with school (have I mentioned we're back in school?), appointments, cleaning, cooking, and non-stop homework (since we’re back in school). This did not leave a lot of room for quality time together, but when the weekend came, we made sure to make up for that since yesterday marked our very first month of marriage.

Since I promised to always type my mind for you, today's post will be a celebration of my marriage. I want to let the world know what makes the man I gave my heart to over a year ago so special. He is constantly given credit for his heroic military service, so it's only fair that he gets some recognition for his incredible husband dedication as well.

Love is the most powerful human interaction the earth will ever have. Love impacts every ounce of our being, whether it be love for another person, love of a cause, love for the Lord, or even love of a hobby. Once you've experienced true love, whether you keep that person or lose them, your life is forever changed; from the way you think, to the way you choose to let others into your heart in the future.

I can very clearly recall the exact split-second when I knew my life had been changed forever.

It was during a high school graduation party for a friend of mine. There was music playing loudly, and people twirling and clapping in celebration. The aroma of cake and frosting was in the air. Everyone was dressed up, and no one had forgotten to wear a smile. Something about watching people pass successfully from one chapter of life to another was beautiful. Hearing someone speak about the proud moments of the past that would be stair-steps for an accomplished future reminded everyone in attendance of the dreams they used to have, and even put hope back in people's hearts who had long-since let the distractions of life dim what they used to want so badly.

I was sitting next to my mother, who was sipping punch as I was enjoying a slice of delicious cake. We were watching everyone dancing, and laughing as we saw one of my younger brothers attempt to flirt with a girl he had noticed. I felt carefree and happy, but shallow. My life was decent- I had accomplished a bit of college, I was single and no former flings were on my heart anymore, I was living in a beautiful townhouse with one of my best friends, and I had a fun job at Victoria's Secret.

My current situation wasn't bad at all. In fact, it was great. I was finally in a stable, relaxed place in my life. However, I felt a disconnect between my mind and heart in the midst of it all, because I had listened closely and taken in the speech during my friend's graduation ceremony. Afterwards, as I was sitting there savoring my slice of cake, I was flustered because the speaker had inspired me to chase my dream, and now I really wanted to. Just one problem: for the life of me, I could not come up with what "my dream" would look like. I had absolutely no clue where I wanted to be in 5 years, I had no direction, and therefore, my life was lacking purpose.

In an attempt to brush my overthinking away, I checked my phone and jumped onto Facebook. I saw a friend request. Jason Hallett...Confirm or Not Now. I wanted to leap in the air! My heart skipped 3 beats! My mind rushed a million miles an hour as I pressed the Confirm button. That is when my whole life change. Somehow I knew it would, and I wanted it to.

         It had been almost 8 years since Jason and I had been the most in-love of all 8th graders there ever were. We had lost touch at the end of the school year because our parents had switched us to different schools against our wishes. Over time passed, I had tried to reconnect with him by looking for him on Myspace, Twitter, Facebook, you-name-it, but I'd given up after a few years of realizing he was nowhere to be found.

But here he was again! I had often wondered where his life had taken him, but I was not prepared to find out, which I did when I began scrolling through his Profile Pictures. I reached over and grabbed my mom's arm, then jumped up to my feet. "Mom, Mom! Guess who just added me! Jason Hallett!"

I didn't need to explain further; she fully remembered him and our short but sweet romance. "No way?! What is he up to?"

As one can imagine, the first picture of him that I clicked on shocked me. He was handsome as ever, his blue eyes pierced right through the phone screen, and that mischievous grin he'd always had was still covering his face, cheek to cheek. But the thing that my eye immediately focused in on, was his right arm... It was gone! Wait, his left hand wasn't normal either. I teared up. I had no idea what I was looking at, I felt so sad that he had been through such a horrible thing (whatever it was), and in my shallow state-of-mind, my hopes of us reconnecting romantically were dashed. "Omg Mom, he's missing an arm!" She teared up.

I then scrolled to the right to see his next picture. And there he was. Still handsome, looking so grown up, but absolutely and completely different than I ever would have pictured him in my wildest imaginations. He was short, and that was because he was standing on fake legs (I didn't even know that they were prosthetic stubbies), because he was missing BOTH of his legs. The tears streamed down my face. What had happened to my Jason??

I decided to lady-up, and forced myself to pull it together, since I was in public, at an event where everyone around me was dancing, after all. I looked through his About Me section briefly, and saw that he was employed by the United States Marine Corps, which put a small smile on my face because even as a 14 year old, I remember him always saying that he wanted to be in the military when he grew up. My mind was now racing a trillion miles an hour, so I decided I had to know what happened, and the only way I could do that was to ask the source. Compose message to Jason Hallett: "Jason! Long time no talk!! Thank you for finding me, I can't believe this! First of all, thank you for your service, I can see that you are a hero and sacrificed so much for our country. Second, how are you?! We have a lot of catching up to do..!"

And that we did. When I thanked him for finding me, I meant on the internet, but little did I know, he found my very soul. There was no pause button from that moment on. I know that before Jason, I had never experienced real love, because when I saw that he was a triple amputee, I have to confess that I only saw us ever being friends. I couldn’t picture my life being that exciting or out-of-the-ordinary. I couldn’t imagine myself being strong enough to overcome the daily struggles that he had to be facing. But that's exactly how Jason Hallett swooped in and changed my life: he gave me purpose. He gave me a dream to achieve. He gave me a desire to live outside of myself and to expand the little world I had always known. Jason changed my mindset, changed my love for other human beings, and opened my heart to dig past the shallow passings, into the roots of my core being.

Since that very first day when he knocked on the door to my heart and I carefully opened it to let him in, he has swept through every room of my being, adding on a hundred more rooms, without even knowing it.

One month ago, I made the decision to marry my soulmate. I know that will forever be the best decision I'll ever make, and that being his wife is the highest honor I will ever hold.

Jason Kyle has been my rock since day one. He is stable, even when I am a 30-foot wave crashing, spiraling, and sinking. He has an irreplaceable way of always seeing the beauty in life, and in me. His love is tender, reassuring me that I can whisper the fears of my innermost being into his ear. His love is strong, reminding me that we will always make it. His love is constant. Ever since he came along, I have never spent one day fearing that someday I will be alone. Jason takes the time to know everything about me. He knows that if I'm quiet, I'm probably over-thinking something. He knows that I buy dozens of frames, but never put pictures in them. He always goes the extra mile to take care of our little family. One time when I was exhausted after a long day of cleaning and organizing, I woke up from my nap to find him in the kitchen, leaned over in his wheelchair with a scrubber attached to his left nub, doing the dishes. He is profoundly wise. His insight and knowledge spill over into all aspects of our lives. His faith is truly enough to transform a mustard seed into a mountain. He is a Believer. He believes in himself, he believes in me, he believes in God, and he believes in the good in the world.

My life has been given such deep purpose and fulfillment because Jason decided to reach out to me, then took me in and loved me unconditionally. He loved me before he knew me, and he loves me now that he knows everything about me. Yesterday marked the first of a million months filled with the best thing this life has to offer-- love.

As I write this, I'm realizing that this entry is very long, and it may bore most of you. However, this is a risk I will just have to take, because my heart and mind is surrounded by the love I have for my unfathomably amazing husband, and I can't have a blog without letting the readers know what holds my world together.

Just like that high school graduation speech inspired me to find my purpose and create a dream, I hope that this blog inspires you to find love, and invest in someone who brings meaning your world.

Thanks for listening, have a blessed week everyone!

-Rachel Hallett-

"Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken..." 

Isaiah 54:10