The Day We Met...Zac's side of the story

It was October 2007 and I had heard of a campmeeting that was being held in Dalton, Ga with the evangelist Perry Stone from a family (the coggins) in the church I attended in Shelby, NC. So me and the Coggins had decided to go to the campmeeting and at the last minute they backed out, but that did not waver me from going and expecting God to fulfill my desires of finding a wife. I will let you know I graduated from NC State university in May 2005, and I got saved in October 2003. God really began to prepare me for my wife by putting a desire in my heart for her in December 2004. About that time in 2004 a prophet came to our church in Shelby and gave me some advice. He said write down on paper what you have been burdened in your heart from the Lord for a wife. What do you desire in your wife, write it out and begin to call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. So for almost 3 years I prayed for my wife while God was preparing me and now I was heading to the Perry Stone Campmeeting alone a 3-1/2 hour drive hoping that God would show me the woman my heart had so desired and was nearly weary from waiting for.
I can remember the drive almost as if it were yesterday, my heart was so anticipating the campmeeting I was nearly bursting to get there. I do remember on the way we were in a severe drought and as I drove through Georgia almost every lake I passed was nearly 30 to 40 feet below it banks. I had not physically seen rain fall from the sky in almost 3 months. It was so ironic on the way as I approached Dalton I was still nearly an hour away I came upon one of the most torrential thunderstorms I can remember and it rained all the way to Dalton. You know it is just like that sometimes we go through dry seasons and all the sudden here comes the rain of blessing but our eyes are so fixed on our dryness for the time that we have spent in it that when the rain or blessing comes, we almost miss it ( Ill fill you in on that later).
So I got to Dalton and finally got in the doors of the campmeeting on Tuesday night to a sea of people it had to be over a thousand. I knew no one but the speaker Perry and so I took my seat over to the right of the conference room all the time thinking that I may meet my wife or I know that God is going to show up and just speak to me and shine a bright light and say this is the one marry her!!!
Two days passed and it was now Thursday and I was bouncing all around in the conference room wanting to find some friends and sit in about the same spot, so this time I decided to sit over to the left of the conference room and listen. After the morning service I was discouraged and decided to go for a drive. I drove way out into the coutry pleading with God and crying my eyes out talking to him and reminding Him that He said that He would give me the desires of my heart. I returned to the campmeeting for the Thursday night service and I again sat to the left and this time a little further towards the front. As I was sitting there I felt impressed on the inside to sit back where I had sat earlier that same morning, where I had met two families from Florida. As I continued to sit there with the beginning of the service approaching I continued to look over my shoulder to see if the seat had been filled yet, about 5 minutes before the start of the meeting I had such an urge to sit back there that I stood up and looked at the families ( the Judahs and the Chisholms) on that row and asked is anyone sitting in that seat, and to my amazement they said “we were actually saving that seat for you” because these same families had sat in this row the entire week and I had sat beside them earlier that day. I had never meet these dear peaople before in my entire life except for the night before. So we worshiped the Lord and God began to ignite a close relationship between all of us, that I was not yet aware of.

The Judah's and Chisholms

I returned to the campmeeting Friday morning and knew where I was to sit, I took my seat and the Judahs and the Chisholms asked me if I wanted to go and eat at the Dalton Depo for lunch after the morning service and I said “yes Praise the Lord”!!! After the service we headed to the Dalton Depo which was a restaruant in Dalton, GA and as we all took our seats and ordered we all fellowshiped and talked to one another to better get to know one another. I will let you know I can remember it as if it were yesterday that the presence of God was still very heavy upon us all and we all ordered and sat there just saturated in the awe of who God is. I do remember sitting around the table and God allowing the gift of the “word of knowledge” 1Cor 12:8 to go forth to a dear brother across the table which brought much edification!!! As we finished our dinner and were sitting there Kevin Chisholm ( now a full time minister of God) leaned over towards me at the table and said “ we met some friends from the campmeeting earlier this week that said they were from North Carolina and they said that there was a young woman of God that attends there church in Franklin, NC that will be coming to the service tomorrow (Saturday) Morning”. I turned to Kevin and said “ok, Praise God, what are the chances we will run into those people from North Carolina, I have no idea who they are much less meet them, and by the way where is Franklin?”. I will fill you in on something, the Chisholms and the Judahs are from Florida, and at this time I had no idea that God had supernaturally ran these families into (Harold and Marla Johnson and Ron and Carol Christie) two families from Franklin, NC in the parking lot of the camp meeting. I had no idea that God was using the Judahs and the Chisholms to get me to meet the Johnsons and the Christies to eventually meet Bekah. After lunch I sat there excited but very scared with very high walls up, actually ignorant to the fact that God would use people to answer prayers. As we finished lunch we paid and headed out the door, I was by myself as I approached the exit of the Dalton Depo, when I heard some men from another table talking about the Lord and assumed that they were also attending the campmeeting. I passed by the table and immediatley began to talk to them and I asked them where they were from and they said “North Carolina”. I immediatley thought to myself whoa!!! Hallelujah!!! About that time Kevin approached and said “Zac thats the people I was talking about to you at the table”. I was so overwhelmed yet so scared that I can’t explain it. As we all talked a few minutes Kevin brought up the conversation of the young woman that was to be coming tomorrow and I remember exactly Ron Christie said “well what does that matter, who here is single”. A huge grin came across my face as I said “well I am” and actually raised my hand!! Immediatley right there in the Dalton Depo, Ron Christie, Harold Johnson, and Kevin Chisholm all laid hands on me and began to pray for me!
As I left the Dalton Depo I felt within my spirit such an amazing presence yet so scary because I was so fearful that I would mess up and it would not be the woman that God had intended for me to marry from the foundation of the world. What I realize now is that I did not fully trust Him to answer my prayers and how much I am in need of his mercy and grace to hear Him and make the right decisions in life. To be honest with you all I was so fearful that I allowed the walls in my life to harden me to the fact of what was going on and what God was doing. I had prayed earnestly now for almost three years for a wife and I could have let it slip through my hands.
Saturday was here and the morning service was upon us. I took my seat and Kevin came to me and asked me if I would like to go back to eat at the Dalton Depo, because he had talked with Harold and he said that Bekah would be here for lunch, I gladly agreed, but was scared and actually went in to it before hand thinking that this could not be my wife, God wouldnt work like this.
We all went to go eat again at the Dalton Depo, but this time it was all of us including myself and Bekah. I remember sitting directly across from her at the table but would not look her in the eyes. Actually I talked to everyone else but her, because I was thinking that God would somehow just speak to me and shine a light and say this is her, and I got none of that so I decided this is not her. Even though I had decided no, I could not help but hear as Bekah has already mentioned all that we had in common, it amazed me, but the walls were not going to come down.
I thank God for seasoned men of God that have walked with the Lord for sometime and understand when they see God putting something together, that I could not see. As we all left the Dalton Depo we all stood around and they all decided to take a picture ( I can promise you that had it been left up to Bekah or me to have the picture taken it would not have happened). As we all stood there it was funny how the Lord set the picture up, there was everybody and then there was Harold and Marla Johnson and Myself on one side and Bekah on the other, they were actually a buffer between us two. As we took the picture like I said before I thank the Lord for seasoned men of God, Harold Johnson which I love like a father leaned over to me and said “ it looks like a beautiful family photo”(we later learned that Harold and Marla had cropped this picture and put on their computer). I thought to myself this man is crazy and we all got in our cars and left. Bekah and I never spoke another word, even though it may have only been about ten that was spoken altogether.

The last night (Saturday night) service came and Bekah was there at the end of the row, I glanced over at her a few times but that was about it, we never spoke at the night service. After the service Bekah left back for home and didnt stay for the last night dinner. We all ate and enjoyed our fellowship together and like that the campmeeting was over. But even though I had walls up of defense the Lord did not let me forget His awesome power of how He had brought all of this together and the love that He had for me and the plans for my life. And like that I was heading back to Shelby. I thank the Lord for His mercy, I never kept in touch with Harold and Marla or Ron and Carol, but God had developed a close realtionship with me and Kevin Chisholm and that was maybe the link back to what God had already begun.