Lindsey + Leah

Read Their Love Story!

Leah and I met at church in 2010. I was shy and bookish and she was shy and comic-book nerdy, but from the start our hearts were connected. Before we were really friends, Leah used to see me across a room and make a ridiculous crazy face at me - to which I would always laugh {Leah’s input: I loved making her laugh and smile. Every Monday night at our college-age group I waited by the coffee table, that was the first thing she went for when she arrived. I would hear her greeting people from around the corner so I would get ready prepping the 'snarl' face that made her smile every time.} She has been making me laugh now for almost 5 years. A few years ago, we wound up attending the same community college. It was my first year there; I showed up looking like a deer in headlights only for Leah to find me in the registration office and immediately start pointing me in the right direction for all of my first-day-of-school activities. We had our morning class together, and then she walked me to all of my classes the rest of the day. We spent the whole school year doing homework, eating lunch, goofing off in the library {Leah’s input: we were always getting in trouble for laughing or ranting too loud}, and just having fun getting to know each other. During that time we also were involved in the same groups at church, and became even closer friends as we served at church together {Leah’s input: we co-led a high school girls group and we were an amazing team. She was gentle and soft and always there with a shoulder to cry on, and I was quick with a joke and loved to try new teaching methods. I would spend hours running through lessons with Lindsey to see if she thought anybody would actually learn or if they’d just get distracted}. We used to get out of school, drive to Safeway to buy Chinese food, and go eat it upstairs in our volunteer office at the church where we’d study for our next lesson plan. It didn't take long before I knew Leah had become my dearest friend in the whole world. We shared a love of faith, of travel, of books, of music (she was a band kid and I was a choir kid), etc. There was rarely a day in the week that we didn't spend some time together, and when we weren't together we were talking on the phone or texting {Leah’s input: We also watched movies together by starting them on Netflix at the same time at our own houses and Skyping while they were playing}. One time, we were having a movie night with our girlfriends. For some reason, we all wanted to watch Fried Green Tomatoes which is this wonderful 90s movie about two girls who fell into this epic friendship that changed their lives forever {Leah’s input: …and they lived together and raised a baby together… *eyebrow raise}. As we were watching the movie, Leah and I couldn't help but notice how similar we were to the main characters. Idgie was a fearless tomboy who had more love and loyalty in her little finger than most people have the privilege to know in their whole life, like Leah. Ruth, the character I relate to more, is this sweet and quiet pastor's daughter who's inner strength is unexpected but undeniable {Leah’s input: and she’s stubborn. Don't forget stubborn}. Anyway we were watching this movie and it was one of the first times I realized that I was crushing on Leah. I looked at Idgie and Ruth and I saw us, I saw how deeply we loved and understood each other even though at the time it wasn't romantic. A few months after that night, I flew to New York to work upstate for the summer. {Leah’s input: I was heartbroken. Two months without her was going to be like two months without water or air.} I was there for two months and Leah made time to talk to me every single day. We would Skype until all hours of the night, keeping each other updated on our days and just talking like we always did. We also wrote letters to each other. It was during this time that I understood I was in love with her. This is where our story starts getting a bit complicated... not only because I was sure she wouldn't feel the same way, but neither of us were raised in homes or churches where homosexuality was accepted or ok. Leah grew up as a missionary's kid, and I grew up a pastor's daughter. Both of our parents tend to lean very conservatively. So when I recognized my feelings for Leah as serious, I was pretty terrified of the ramifications if I ever were to tell anyone how I was feeling, especially her. But despite my efforts to put my feelings aside, and trying to love her the "correct" way as a friend and nothing more, nothing was working. So I committed to just keeping quiet about it and hoping it would fade away over time. When I returned home from New York, I wound up struggling with some culture shock and depression for some time. Once again, Leah stood by my side and helped me readjust to all the changes that had happened at home while I was away. I cannot express how wonderful and helpful she was, and how thankful I am for her in that time. Eventually, we couldn't avoid the elephant in the room anymore (because I got tipsy and I kissed her) and I had to come clean about how I felt for her. I told her that I understood if she didn't want to be my friend anymore, but I couldn't seem to shake my affections. {Leah’s input: I could never leave her; I loved her too much. I just had so much trouble understanding what I was feeling. A VIP – and by VIP I mean my awesome wonderful mother - told me, "Leah you wouldn't know love if it hit you like the broad side of a barn". And she was right, I didn’t… So I dismissed it as a "strong friendship".} I should've known by then that she wouldn't be interested in leaving, she hadn't walked away from me in all the time that we'd known each other. Which is exactly what she told me, that she'd never leave me even if I never fell out of love with her. {Leah’s input: nothing could stop me from spending the rest of my life with this girl, even when I thought we’d just be two old BFFs wobbling around in a nursing home.} I spent the next month trying not to be awkward and trying to act as normal as possible in an effort to preserve the amazing friendship we had. And then one day out of the blue, she kissed me. {Leah’s input: See, I had spent the last month realizing that it was all I could do to not think about kissing her again. I knew if I could just kiss her one more time, I would know if she was the one} She just kissed me and I just stared at her. I figured that she just kissed me because she knew how I felt about her and was taking one for the team by giving me a kiss. {Leah’s input: the second I kissed her I knew, but she didn’t kiss me back. I backed up cautiously and asked "so?" and she lied and said that she didn't feel anything. My heart was beating out of my chest, and I thought I had missed my opportunity with the one! My One!} The next day we were hanging out, and Leah leaned in close, again! This time I kissed her, and then asked what was going on, and how she was feeling. She told me that she had spent the last month figuring out where she stood with me, and at the end of that time she knew that she loved me. I of course still felt the same way, she asked me to be her girlfriend and we officially started dating. We dated blissfully for a month before we decided it was time to start telling people. Unfortunately, one of those people outed us to our boss at church before we were ready to tell him. Our whole world got quickly turned upside down. We faced a lot of rejection from family and friends, and I even had to move out of my parents' house. Thankfully, Leah’s mom welcomed me into her home with open arms. But through the chaos, we've only gotten stronger, and have only grown to love each other more. This Valentine's Day will mark 14 months for us. We don't think we'll be able to get married for a couple more years due to financial limitations, but we want more than anything to tie the knot, be legally wed, build a life together and grow old by each other's side. It would be such an incredible blessing to be provided with a wedding and honeymoon!