A
Whirlwind Relationship
At the age of seventeen, my boyfriend presented me
with an engagement ring. I said yes and then wondered what I’d done.
My fiancé was good-looking, charming, and he cared for
me, but our goals were different. The man I’d promised to marry planned life as
a farmer. Can you imagine me as a farmer’s wife? I grew up in the city, had
never even planted a pot of ivy, and possessed no idea about country life.
And to top that off, at the age of eight, I’d
surrendered for God’s service. I presumed I’d teach children Bible stories in a
distant country in South America. After all, I was studying Spanish.
To say I had second thoughts about marriage to this
nice guy is an understatement. Our ideas were totally incompatible. I guess
when I said yes I didn’t want to hurt his feelings.
I finally decided it would be kinder to undo this
tragedy in the early stages rather than continue in a relationship destined for
failure. Three months later, on a Saturday night, I gave him the ring back. He
reluctantly accepted it and said to me, “You’re gonna get your feet wet.”
As I tried to sleep the night of our heartbreaking parting,
I thought about his odd remark. I’d never heard the expression before, but I
had an idea what he meant. The thought came to me that my feet had been in hot
water when I’d accepted his proposal. I’d just dried them off when I returned
the ring.
The next morning dawned warm for early March in Texas.
After church, I spent the afternoon washing cars for a high school fundraiser.
The project kept my mind off the sadness dwelling in my spirit. During a lull
between vehicles, I inspected my appearance and gave a rueful smile. My feet
were literally wet, and so was the rest of me. I was a dirty mess, but I don’t
think that was the kind of prognostication my former fiancé had meant.
As I finished hosing down the last car, a friend and
her mom came by. I declined their invitation to attend a new church, but they
talked me into it and waited for me to change clothes. The three of us strode
late into the service. The small, crowded sanctuary left no room for us to sit
together, so we split up.
A handsome young man with black, wavy hair and
sparkling brown eyes led the music. At the end of the service, he slipped out the back
door and managed to be the first one to greet me as I left the sanctuary. The
guy must have sprinted—he appeared faster than Texas tornado. We exchanged
names and spoke a few minutes, and then I left.
Intuition told me he’d call on Wednesday night. And he
did. We made a date to go bowling the coming Saturday night. The evening was
fun, and in between my falling down once or twice and throwing my ball into the
gutter rather than down the alley, I discovered he planned to enter the
ministry.
He walked me to the door as our date ended. He kissed
me goodnight and then said, “I’m in love with you, and I’m going to marry you.”
Whaaat?
Was
he kidding? Seriously?
I’d just ended a relationship and had no intention of
jumping into another one. This guy didn’t know me, and he loves me? What kind
of nut could he be?
Before long, I learned. This man is a fast mover,
makes speedy decisions, and is seldom wrong with his discernment.
Our relationship moved along at a rapid pace, and I
discovered we shared the same goals.
He was in college, worked full time, gave twenty hours
a week to the church, and somehow managed to find time for me.
Before long, a church in Oklahoma invited him to
become their pastor. He accepted the invitation, and then drove back to Texas.
We met for lunch the day he returned. He proposed marriage—presented me with a
ring. I felt comfortable accepting this one, but I wanted to wait before we
said the vows. I’d just graduated high school and wanted to attend college for
at least one semester. During those few months, I could plan a wedding.
“Oh no, you can’t do that—no time. I told the church I
was bringing a wife in three weeks. We have to marry now.”
Whaaat?
Was
he kidding again? Seriously?
After I gulped back my shock, I responded. “I can’t
marry you right now. My mom is in the hospital.”
His reply? “We can have the ceremony there.”
My fiancé drove to the hospital to visit with mom. She
was extremely ill, and we weren’t supposed to upset her. She surprised me by
accepting the news well, but she asked the young preacher how much money he
would be making.
“Fifteen dollars a week,” came the reply.
Mom almost fell from the bed. “Fifty dollars a week?
You can’t live on that.”
Uh oh. She’d misunderstood the amount. My sweetheart
merely nodded and said, “The Lord will provide for us.”
Six months after we met, we had a small ceremony in
the chapel at the Methodist Hospital in Dallas, Texas. We said vows on a
Thursday night and packed our few belongings on Friday. We drove to Oklahoma on
Saturday, and Paul preached his first sermon on Sunday morning.
Our meeting and wedding sounds fictional, doesn’t it?
But it is a true story. I tell it often
when I speak to groups. Maybe I’ll include it in a book in the near
future.
My sweetheart isn’t the most romantic guy in the
world, but he is kind, caring, thoughtful, and funny. The first time I saw the
Dallas skyline lighted up against the black sky as we drove in from rural Oklahoma,
I cried.
My new husband said, “If I’d known lights would make
you this happy, I would have fastened a string of them in the back yard.”
Three daughters, and four grandchildren later, we find
we think alike—even finish each other’s thoughts.
The Lord, Paul Lewis, family and friends are the loves
of my life. I’m thankful that God graciously prevented me from making a mistake
with a nice guy—but he was the wrong one for me. God was kind to me, and I
didn’t get my feet wet. God gave me the husband He’d intended for me all
along. I just had no idea a whirlwind
came with him.
And here’s the thing, this man of mine still moves
faster than I do. Somewhere over the years, I’ve adapted to his swifter pace.
On the other hand, he’s slowed down a bit so I can keep up.
Check out Gay’s contribution to Prism Book Group’s new Love Is series…
Clue Into Kindness
“Love is kind…” 1 Corinthians: 13:4
from
Prism Book Group, a series of fifteen novellas based on I Corinthians 13. Releasing Fridays in February, then the last Friday of the month--watch for them, and an opportunity to win fabulous prizes this month during our Sweet Valentine Promotion through the month.
2.99 single ebook
Print bundle coming soon
About the book:
Georgia loves her husband, Alan. She shows him kindness with
actions and words, but Alan responds in a heartless, selfish way. To receive
respect and admiration from people, he believes he must have a perfect wife—so
he criticizes Georgia at every opportunity—even tells her she’s fat! Alan’s
best friend Ken and his wife Jana reassure Georgia that she remains the
gorgeous beauty queen she was during her college days. Who will Georgia
believe—her friends or the mysterious, handsome stranger who comes into her
life?
Circumstances bring a change to Alan’s attitude. But is it too late to save
this marriage?
My review:
A married couple who have been poked in the eyes by the
stars they’ve let swirl far too long gets an overdue lesson in treating each
other better.
Alan and Georgia married for all the usual romantic reasons and soon
lost touch with each other, only they’re unaware of the fact except to their quasi-friends,
Jana and Ken. Ken has the patience of a saint, is secure in his relationships
with people and God, and sees the good in the boorish Alan. When Jana takes a
page from her husband’s notebook on life advice and works harder to be a friend
to Georgia to get her to see her life in tatters, the results take an
unexpected curve. Clueless Alan has little respect for anyone until his dad
enters the scene and sets him straight.
Experience and twenty-twenty hindsight final reveal that
kindness in love is integral in any relationship. Hopefully it’s not too late
for Alan and Georgia. Clue Into Kindness is a sweet romantic story of love gone
awry and the chances we take or miss to get it straight. Told in multiple
viewpoints for those who enjoy a swift kick of a story.
