Lucas and Rachel's Story Part I: I hope my friends can experience this kind of love.

I met Rachel back in 2012. It was my first year as a student-athlete in the US! Actually, my first year in Jefferson City, TN, which is different than the whole US.

Rachel played volleyball and was constantly mentioned by athletes of other sports when we were talking about volleyball at Carson-Newman University. Her fame of being a great athlete went beyond of what she knew about herself at school. I played soccer, so we were constantly around the same areas at school even though we did not know each other.

I remember the day that I saw her for the first time. It was in the training room! It seemed like just another regular day for most athletes trying to prevent or cure injuries. Not that one, though! I came with a friend to the training room that was full of athletes of all sports. I saw Rachel on the farthest corner doing calf raises with a serious look on her face as she stared at the door in front of her. She was probably the only one there not having a conversation. Little did I know at the time, that moment was a portrait of her amazing work ethic from the little moments to the big tests and games!

I made a comment to my friend, something like, "Wow, who is that girl over there?" He replied something along the lines of, "She is a volleyball player, Christian girl, and she is dating someone." Typical guy report!

After that, I saw Rachel a few times when she was playing volleyball (which was amazing by the way!) and now and then at the halls of the athletic building. I did talk to her one or two times in the training room, but a simple "hi" or "how are you?"

Even though I did not know her, she had caught my attention not just because of how extremely beautiful I thought she was but because of her behavior on the court. I also noticed something special in her smile. Rachel was not needy for attention! She was not playing to others, but she was always focused in the present moment, giving everything she had! She did not care how she was looking or if guys were watching, even though she looked amazing to me. I started admiring her not because of her performance but because of how rare was to see that those days, especially in the world of girls in college.

Her smile had something genuine to it. It would transmit honesty, joy, and peace at the same time. Something I have never seen before.

After we had met when soccer and volleyball seasons were over, we started hanging out with common groups of friends, but I already knew that I had to be careful because I was starting to like that girl! However, I could not do anything about it because she was dating and she was very respectful of her commitment.

Time passed. She broke up her relationship, and after a while, we started the best journey of my life.

She was the first person that I have met in my life that genuinely cried because of the suffering of other people. Sometimes because of mine!

I felt I had a partner for everything, not just a girlfriend. She is a rare girl indeed.

She was beautiful without trying. She was attractive without being vulgar like many girls nowadays. She had traits in her character that I could not believe, were altogether in the same person. Traits like an incredible work ethic, true faith, confidence, altruism, kindness, honesty, passion for learning, and the absence of needing validation from others! Besides being unpredictable, which I love!

At the beginning of our friendship/relationship, I remember trying to talk to Rachel on the phone to start persuading her to give me some attention. Hardest task ever! She could not understand a word I was saying because of my accent, and she would put on speaker and "recruit" some of her volleyball friends to see if someone could understand, and help her out! Foreign problems right there.

Even though it was frustrating, it was also great! She would be the sweetest girl even though she had no idea if I was hitting on her in Portuguese or English. When she was not sweet, she would be having a nervous laughter breakdown because she could not understand a thing even with a team of girls trying! I later noticed that she has these uncontrollable laughing moments quite often, and they are wonderful. So, even if she could not comprehend a single thing, I kept calling her. Those calls would brighten my days.

Now, we are almost four years together, and I could not be more thankful for having such an amazing blessing like Rachel in my life. If I did not believe in God, she would be the one reason I should question atheism. She is just too good for not being meticulously created.

Contrary to what others think, Rach and I are not the perfect fairytale. We had to work hard to get here, and we will work harder to overcome challenges in our marriage. For us to keep succeeding, we know we cannot act like most people! I don't win arguments nor does she. We focus on winning as a team.

Thanks, to everyone that has encouraged us over the years. I sincerely hope that all my friends can experience this kind of love in their lives. It changes you for better.

#lifestyle #SoulFUEL #truestory #memories #hardwork #love