The story of JR and Lindsey

I often get asked the question, "So how did you and JR meet?" Since we will be celebrating the big 10 year anniversary of the day we officially became a couple this weekend, I thought I would tell you how the story of us goes....




It was 1993 that the Isham family moved to Rockwood, after being a military family and having lived all over the US. I was in the 5th grade and I actually met Phillip first because he was in the elementary school with me at the time. I knew of JR as Phillip's brother and because he quickly became part of the popular crowd. The Isham boys were known as heart-throbs and all star football players. Here is a classic picture of the Isham boys back in that time-

Once I left Ridge View elementary school and moved up to Rockwood Middle School, JR and I became friends by default, as we had the same group of friends. We as 6th grade girls thought it was cool to have 7th grade boy "friends" and so thats when we all became really close. I was closer with some of his friends actually and even dated a couple of them too ha! Our group of friends all belonged to our church youth group, which was a great bonding experience for us all.

Fast forward 4 years- us both watching each other date other people along the way and never really having an interest in each other. Our youth group went to Six Flags the summer of 1998 and this was the magical time that sparks began to fly between the two of us. Once the group got there we decided to divide up into groups to go around to all of the rides, and by God's great choice JR and I ended up with Brooke and Chandlar, who were our friends that were dating at the time. Anyways the story goes that we flirted pretty much the whole day and then on the way back home on the church bus we sat together and had our first kiss. And when JR says that I am the one that laid it on him he is totally fibbing :)

We didn't start dating right away but knew that we liked each other. Funny story about lunch time breaks when we would see each other we would flip each other on the arm as to say "I like you". Yes we were cool and had code language haha.. it was so elementary but we love to laugh about it now. I wish I could remember exactly what happened on September 27th to make us start dating then, but as far as I can remember it was insignificant. We were as serious as we could be at the age of 15 and 16 once we started dating. I will never forget him saying to me, "Alright well if we are going to make this official then just know that I am in this for real. No more games!"Here is one of our first pictures as a couple at my Nanny and Poppa's house. I had just got finished with basketball practice and he with football practice. Here we are at JR's football banquet in December of 1998. This is probably the most hilarious picture of us in the dating stage b/c we look like we are in our 40's instead of only 15 and 16. Gotta love the sweater set, bangs and that mexi stache and tie!

And here is the first prom together- JR's junior prom in 1999. We continued to be very involved in our youth group together and loved having my Mimi and Potts as our youth leaders. I would definitely say that God used this time to mold us into a couple and really taught us many things, though we were still so young. I wish I could say that there were never any bumps in the road, however we did break up on the occasion. Typically it was never longer than a month or so and then we realized that we just couldnt be apart. I do not remember the first time we separated, so I will just put one in here now for that time. We had many great high school memories together- some of those best times were during football season when I got to be his #1 fan. JD and I never missed a game, traveling all over the state with our team. Go Tigers :)

And you remember the dress up days back in high school? Well our group of friends loved to go all out and therefore this is an example of us one Halloween- Dr. and NurseAnother thing we loved to do as a couple was volunteer at a Muscular Dystrophy camp in the summers. JR had been a couple of years before we dated but I jumped in shortly after. We love all of the campers and counselors we were able to meet there and still consider them all our family.

My junior year of high school and JR's senior year was definitely a rocky spot for us. We had dated for over a year at that point and I thought I was ready to move on. We broke up in February and did not get back together until that next summer. I hate that I missed his senior prom, graduation and such.... and I honestly NEVER thought we would be getting back together this time.
BUT of course you would know we would have to get back together since you know we are married... and we did! Fall of 2000, was my senior year of high school and JR's first year at UT. He joined KA fraternity and invited me to their Old South Ball formal. You will notice if you click on the picture and zoom in that I have a black (or really more purple) eye. I was in the middle of softball season and got hit by a fly ball.. thanks JD! haha just kidding :) But yes, as one of my first times meeting all of his new cool college friends, I was THAT girl with the black eye.

Here we are back at prom again- this time my senior year 2001

And I am finally out of high school! Now headed up to UT where JR is and I absolutely cannot wait to be a VOL!We loved going to the football games together and both intensified our level of loving the VOLS. Of course living around Knoxville all your life, you are already a volunteer fan, however there is just NOTHING like being a student and cheering on YOUR team :)
I joined Phi Mu sorority my freshman year of school. This was a great decision for me coming from a small high school to such a large college and not really knowing ANYONE. Once I became a Phi Mu though, that quickly changed :) I loved taking JR to our date parties and formals... we always had a blast dancing the night away.
For JR's 22nd birthday we added a new member to our family, Ole Major Boy Isham. All JR had ever wanted was a chocolate lab and so I was very excited to surprise him with this! He and Major became the best of buds... and had to because I broke up with him again shortly after this birthday. It was never anything that JR did wrong, but instead it was just me being a silly girl. At this point I was a junior in college and we had been together for 5 years and I knew that JR was ready to take the next step into marriage.. however I was not. We broke up in February and with every intention of it being THE END. He was very caught off guard and hurt and needless to say we did NOT remain friends.

That summer I went to be a counselor at Camp Greystone in the eastern mountains of NC. Little did I know that it would be there that God began to speak to me about who I was as a woman and in the same way showed me truly how great of a man JR really was. Why had I ran? Was it because I was just scared? Was I really supposed to marry this man? You see I always knew that he was a great boyfriend, but in all honesty I never went on to thinking about that next step. I had in my mind that there was no way I could marry my high school sweetheart and therefore there was no sense in the two of us to remain dating. I had one more year of college left and I wanted to be on my own.


After breaking up that February, we did not speak again until the next Fall.. and that was only because he was my intramural flag football coach. This was rather difficult to do because you have to remember we had dated so long before that we had the same circle of friends, same hang out spots, etc, so therefore what it really meant was that JR just ignored me. For the longest time it didnt bother me and I just let it go, but there was just something still ringing in my head after that summer I had spent away at camp. I fought my pride hard.. and I mean hard! I had said for so long that it was over... and I meant that. Why would I go back now after we had been apart for 9 months? Well I will tell you why, because I knew I was making a mistake! JR was graduating in December and moving to Atlanta and I knew that if I didnt push away my pride and tell him how I REALLY felt, then I would lose him forever. I wrote a nice long 12 page letter to him explaining that I knew he was the one for me and that I was so sorry for all I had put him through. I gave him that letter on December 2, 2004 before heading to Atlanta for the SEC championship game. I honestly didnt know what he would do and was expecting the worst since we had ended on such bad terms, but either way I knew I had to tell him or I would regret it for the rest of my life.

JR remained close to my grandparents even after the break up. My Mimi was going to his graduation on December 14th so I decided to go with her. This is by far the most awkward picture we EVER took together. He had read the letter and knew how I felt, but we had yet to talk about it... so this was our first encounter in person at his graduation. He asked me there to meet him to talk that night about everything. He will tell you that he went into that time knowing that there was NO WAY he would get back with me after everything I had done and all we had been through. What he didn't realize was how much he really was still in love with me, and through that alone he was able to forgive me. "I don't know how this is going to work, or even if it will work, but I do know that I still love you even though I don't know why, so I am willing to give it a try to see how it goes." HOLY COW! I couldn't believe that he really said that, as again I was expecting him to tell me sorry but I was too late. We had had many turning points during our relationship, but this had to be the biggest. We knew we were in this for the long haul now, and little did we know exactly what all God had in store for us.

The day after Christmas JR moved to Atlanta to work in real estate with Pulte Homes. I went down the weekend of New Years and amazingly, God had healed us both so much in that short 3 weeks, that everything was very much back to normal. Of course in the back of JR's head he was thinking "Oh no is she going to run again?" so I had to continue to reassure him that I was there to stay.
I finished my last semester of college that Spring and we burned the roads up between Knoxville and Atlanta. We would see each other at least once a month and he of course still came up for my formals and mixers with Phi Mu. During the course of that semester, I made the decision that I was going to also move to Atlanta once I graduated in May. I had some girls that I knew were also moving there as well, so it worked out great for me to have a roommate. I moved down on Memorial Day weekend, May 2005. I started off serving for that summer and then became a Pre-K teacher for the following year.

That November we decided to take a missions trip to Africa. JR had always sensed a calling to go there and God changed my heart to the same once I heard the information on what we would be doing. We came back from this trip forever changed. It was both of our first missions trips and we were able to see in such a real way what God's mission for us is here on this earth as Christians- to go and share the gospel with the nations. Once we got back home from our trip, we could not get the thought out of our minds about serving in full-time ministry. JR became uneasy in his job, we became very involved in First Baptist Church Woodstock, and God began to change our long term life plans. We were not really sure what it was that God wanted us to do, but we felt certain that we must begin with seminary schooling. We visited Southeastern Seminary in Wake Forest, NC in April of that year. Upon arriving on campus we immediately knew that this was the place for us and we moved here in July.


Back up to December 27, 2005, as something very important happened that day as well. JR proposed to me in front of all of our friends and family. It was a very special day for both of us and one that we had waited for for so long now. To get the complete proposal story click here. He did such a great job! That February we added Isham #4 to the mix- Miss Maddie Mae! We wanted another puppy and knew that Major would need a girlfriend too :)
On September 23, 2006, almost 8 years exactly to the day we very first started dating, we became husband and wife. It was the most amazing day of our lives and I was so excited to become Mrs. Isham! At last :)
I think the lesson that people can learn from our story is let go of your own plans (remember mine was NOT to be with JR for the rest of my life) and instead let God's plans take over. What He had planned has been far beyond all of my dreams and I continue to think each day that things could be so different right now in my life, and yet I am SOOO thankful it turned out just the way it did.

Now we have been married for 2 years and are still living in Wake Forest finishing up seminary. God has been so good to us these past 10 years of our lives. We had many turns and bumps along the way, but God has proved faithful to show us that we are right where He wants us to be, in love and with each other. Now we are expecting our first child in April and we could not be happier to add to our Isham family!

Thank you for taking the time to hear the story of us :)