Heather Baker Utley, Communications Director

The Story of Clay

Page Photo Who meets the love of their life because of responding to a personal ad on a bulletin board? Oh yeah, that would be me.

In October of 2006, as I was flying to Austin for the Youth Specialties' National Youth Worker's Convention, I cried out to God. I had logged my 40,000th air mile in three years alone, and I was exhausted. I asked God to provide me encouragement that He heard my prayers. I specifically asked that I would be able to look back on October as the "month when I got a boyfriend and a freelance writing contract."

My prayer was shaped by my readings of Scripture in summer 2006. Often, what Jesus calls faith looks more like a bold and desperate plea (Matthew 8:1-4; 8:5-13; 8:23-27; 9:1-8; 9:18-26). And the requests Jesus honors are ones where the asker often says, "I know you can...are you willing?"

48 hours after saying to God, "I know you can...are you willing?" I walked by a convention bulletin board and noticed a handwritten ad that read as follows: "Tucson-area youth worker seeks fellow concert-goers to see Eliza Gilkyson tonight. 9pm at Threadgills. If you like Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin, Lucinda Williams. Call Clay ###-###-####." I felt a pit in my stomach, because I immediately wanted to go, but I was terrified. Even though I'd been hoping to see a live concert in Tucson, I didn't want to introduce myself to a stranger. I had this pit in my stomach... though... because I knew I was going to go to the concert, and I knew something significant was about to happen.

Ad-writer Clay and I met up on the Congress Street Bridge in Austin and had a not-too-awkward conversation on the way to the venue. My immediate thought was, "I could be friends with you...and man, you look like someone I'd get a crush on!" Twenty minutes into the concert, my connection with Clay had me stunned. It was like we'd met before we met. We discovered mutual loves for music, theater, ministry, social justice, travel, and authentic Christianity. We had such a great time that we hung out again two nights later. When we said goodbye he said, "I'll call you." And he proved the stereotype wrong by actually doing so...

So we kept in touch as Clay returned to his home in Tucson, and I returned to Washington. Since October, emails became phone calls became plane flights and visits. We've gotten to know each other well and ever-so-gradually, fallen in love.

In September of 2007, Clay and I are taking another big step: he's moving to Washington. He's been willing to change his whole life (which includes a full-time youth ministry position in Tucson with people he loves) to pursue our relationship. God has placed His hand on this next step providing a full-time youth ministry position for Clay at my church! We are thrilled to step forward into the next phase of our life together and so stunned by the way it's all coming together.

I invite you to pray for our relationship, specifically for continual purity and for us to live in daily dependence on the Lord in our dating relationship.

I'm confident that the Lord will hear your prayers; because I've seen evidence of my own answered prayers this year. Not only did the Lord bring me Clay in October, he brought me my first freelance writing contract, just as I had requested!