I am shocked and appalled at myself! It has been forever (OK... 4 months) since I blogged. That is terrible! And sadly I didn't realize it had been that long. I know I kept saying "I need to do some blogging" and then I would get busy and think... "Tomorrow"... I just didn't realize how many tomorrows came and went since the last blog. And so many other links in the journey... more than I can remember and write here.. Mia celebrated her 2nd birthday... Hubby celebrated his day too (a few more than 2!)... our son completed his first year of college debt-free and with great grades... our daughter totalled her car (which she loved) and has been on a 2 month journey to find a new (to her) one (and no, she has not found it yet)... the flowers I love so much in our yard have basically withered and die due to extreme heat and drought in our part of the world... it has been a harsh summer and isn't over yet.... our air conditioning, on its last leg, is being coddled and nursed by our repair guy who plans to replace the whole kit and caboodle (but hopes to make it to fall before he has to climb up in our attic and work!)... much more has occurred... most of it will be forgotten (some already has been!)... the journey has continued, but I confess the joy has wavered some and given way to a bit of weariness and apathy.
And yet there is a deep abiding joy in my heart today... a thankfulness and love for God and the beauty of His plan for my life. The summer after my freshman year in college I swore off boys... I was just tired of them... tired of the one at home who took for granted I would always be there when he wanted me to be... tired of the one I had dated that year in college who wanted to map out my life by his terms (I have to laugh.. he told me if we were to marry I would not be allowed to work outside the home. I was furious! The funny thing is years later I was a stay-at-home wife and mom who homeschooled her children! The difference? It was my choice.. with God and my husband, but not an order.)... I had lost myself... too busy trying to be who other people wanted me to be. So I set out to find me. I worked full time that summer at my mother's store (trust me, she did not believe in giving her kids a cushy job... I worked!)... I joined an exercise place (this was 1981... no gymns, but there were fitness centers for ladies)... I ate healthy, exercised. worked and started talking to God again... truly talking and listening at times. I was happy and content with my life.. no need for a guy.. I had God and I had me.. that was enough.
My hometown has a small local theater group... NLT. Each summer, high schoolers put on a play. The director was a sweet spunky lady named Frances. I came to help her with props and such and ended up the assistant director. It was a blast! We were set to open July 17, 1981 (a Friday night). It would be a short 2 night run... just long enough to show off to all the parents and friends who would be coming. On July 14, Frances told me I would need to pull the stage curtain between acts. I said fine and went to give it a yank. Ha! It would not budge for me. I went back to Frances and told her we had a problem. "Well, you could ask Bill to do it. He is the stage manager for the theater and will be here every night." "Who is Bill?" To which she relied... "Bill C. Don't you know him?"... and then with a smile and a bit of a twinkle in her eye "You should meet him." She pointed me to a small group of young adults and specifically to a man with wild curly hair. Even sitting I could tell he was tall (6'5"... 1 foot taller than me!) I went over.. introduced myself and asked him about pulling the curtain for me. He smiled the entire time I talked.. the best smile (I see that smile in his children today)... and said "Sure." And then I noticed that his eyes smiled. It was the cutest thing (still is!).
I had no idea that this tall fella would ask me out 2 nights later.. and that we would have our first date on July 17, 1981 and get married on July 17, 1982! Here I had sworn off boys... and God dropped the most wonderful man right into the center of my world!
It has been 30 years since that faithful meeting (which wasn't really our first meeting, but that is another story!). I would love to say it has been a fairy tale perfect 30 years... it hasn't been. The first year I was 5 hours away at college... not an easy way to build a relationship and plan a wedding.. long before Internet and Cellphones (oh the phone bills! But oh the letters.. real ones.. on paper that you had to wait for!). The 29 years of marriage (which we will celebrate this Sunday) have had lots of ups and downs and twisty turns and loop-de-loops.... hard times.. sad times... happy times... and more blessings and grace than we ever deserve! I expect the roller coaster to continue, but I also know we will live Happily Ever After because we both know the Lord and know exactly where we will be for all eternity. Until then, we will walk hand in hand through this journey God has given us relishing in its Joy!
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