Vitaliy + Anastasia=LOVE

I figured the best way to start this blog about being a wife would be to share my love story- every girl loves telling hers! :)

Back story: at the age of 11 years old I had taken the “purity promise” that my teen years were the Lords and I wouldn’t pursue any relationships during that time period. This was a strong drive in my life to not be distracted by the male population. I had seen enough heartache and mis-guided attention pursuing a sense of “worth” in a relationship. Throughout my teens, especially my high school years, I saw many examples of broken relationships in my Christian and non-Christian friends and knew how much potential sin was possible, as well as the distraction it brought. My high school years were years of great spiritual growth and I continued to purpose in my heart to be used of the Lord in my singleness.

Moving along; I had just graduated high school, 18 years old, and was preparing to start my schooling at a University. My days were spent immersed in the ministries at the church I was attending. Between the children’s ministry, small groups and the worship ministry, my days were packed. That summer, I was helping at the Sunday School camp and met Vitaliy’s (my future husband’s) sister. She and I got to talking about how I was seeking a church that was filled with the simplicity of God’s word and His people, so she invited me to a small church she attended. I eventually visited the church and immediately wanted to dive in to what was going on there, so I started helping with the worship group.

As I continued to go to the church and got to know the families that attended, I realized that Vitaliy was starting to pursue me. He says that the first time he saw me at the church; he thought “I want to marry that girl!” I, on the other hand, was still standing firm on the purity promise I made years ago and still pursuing my mechanical engineering degree. Also, Vitaliy is 8 years older than me, so at the time he didn’t seem like a potential prospect due to the huge (my thoughts at the time) age gap.

Vitaliy was a sound engineer and told me he really liked my voice and wanted to record a specific song with me. Being a young vocalist/musician it was an opportunity of a lifetime! We met up at the studio (chaperoned by my mom and my sister) and laid down the vocals for the song. He worked on it further and then started hinting at a full album recording. He began emailing me samples of songs in the direction he was thinking to go. Eventually we started talking on the phone more consistently and emailing longer emails. What started as a discussion about music, soon became very deep and personal.

As our email and phone relationship grew, over about a month, we started to fall in love and talked about how if we were to date, it would only be for the purpose of marriage. BUT, I had to call things off. I felt convicted by the promise I had made years ago and knew that I was in a “relationship”, even though we’d never actually gone on a “date”. One night my Spirit was deeply convicted, so with a lot of tears and confusion, I called him and told him about my covenant with the Lord and said that I would have to talk to my parents about our relationship and only if they approved, would I then continue it. I spoke with my dad and explained my situation. He thought for a while. Talked extensively with Vitaliy and then blessed our courtship- we were overjoyed!  Anyone who knows my dad will know that it was truly a God-guided decision since my dad does not take relationships/dating lightly.

So with my parents and the Lord’s blessing, we spent the next 3 months courting under a pretty strict regime. Vitaliy was amazingly respectful of my parents and the guidelines they set- making me appreciate him even more. Even though at the time, the rules sounded ridiculous to me, I can now appreciate my parent’s caution when it comes to the sin you can fall into when you are emotionally and physically attracted to someone.

We spent the next three months courting and seeking God’s will for us. After that time, Vitaliy proposed! <3 and three months later (Oct of 2008) we were married! <3 So began my life as the wife of a musician/sound engineer/visionary! :)