Seek ye first the Kingdom of God ...

 

My dear husband and me ...

We've been married for 31 years now.

We have had our difficult times, sometimes struggling just to get through this life ... but the Lord has sustained us. Most of the people we knew when we wed are not married to each other, anymore.  I'm so thankful we are.  

This is how we met.  

While I was working as an optician and my parents were working in Iran I heard about a new Calvary Chapel Church just starting, up in the mountains above Chico where I lived.  The town was called Paradise.  I went to the church for a few months.  The Pastor was commuting to Paradise from Napa where he and his family lived while the church was getting established.  Pastor Dave finally decided it was time to move his family up to Paradise and make it their home.  

I didn't know it at the time, but Pastor Dave had some plans he was keeping a bit of a secret.  He had a friend down in Napa.  Dave told him that there was a girl up in Paradise that he just had to meet.  This young man was helping Dave move the family up north and that Sunday Dave introduced us.  Dave invited me to join the group after church to sight-see around Paradise and then go to lunch.  I reluctantly accepted, but I had a nice time.  

The next week my family came home from Iran for their summer break and they stayed with me at my house.  I didn't go back up to Paradise during this time as we all went to our old family church, instead.  In the last week of their visit Denny called to ask if I was coming back to the Paradise church.  I explained why I hadn't been there and said I would be coming back after they left.  Unbeknownst to me, he had been coming up every weekend expecting to see me there.  Denny asked if I would go to dinner with him after they were gone.  I accepted. 

My boss let everyone at work know that he was having a staff swim party at his house that next Saturday.  Everyone was to bring their spouse.  I, of course, didn't have one.  He said I should bring a date.  I wasn't seeing anyone, so he said I should ask that nice young man that was taking me out to dinner on Friday.  I couldn't ask HIM!  I didn't do that sort of thing.  But they prodded and pushed and said just to call and ask.  I had never called a fellow in my entire life and never asked anyone for a date.  But, since he was going to be here for the weekend anyway, I figured I might as well ask.  I held my breath and called him.  I was so embarrassed,  but he said he would love to take me there, so it was set. 

Denny came by on Friday and took me to dinner.  We had a wonderful time.  I spent much of Saturday with him before we went to Bruce's home.  Bruce's wife was a good friend of mine and she said she would be checking him out, trying to figure out if he was a good guy or not.  :-)  When he took me home, we spent the rest of the evening talking in my living room ... before he left, he asked me to marry him.  We had met on the weekend of the 4th of July (actually July 2nd) ... not seen each other for more than month and after 2 dates, he proposed on August 19th.  He told me not to answer right then, but to pray about it ... he said that he had already prayed and knew that he was suppose to ask me ... well, if that were the case, then shouldn't I have felt good about it? LOL  We saw each other at church the next day, then he called me every evening after I got home from work for that next week.  Let me tell you... I was praying!!  In the middle of the week I asked him when I was suppose to give him my answer.  He said that if it were yes, I could tell him anytime ... if it was a no, then I should wait until he came back that next weekend.  I said, "Well then, I guess I can tell you now."

We have always known that our marriage was made in Paradise ... And I'm so thankful that our pastor introduced us.  He married us down in my old family church on December 23rd.  That is what we planned so that Mama and Daddy would get out of Iran before it fell to the Ayatollah . (that is another story of it's own!)  After the wedding, we spent the Christmas holiday with our families and then got off just to in time to get to Ireland 2 days before New Years for our wedding trip.  It was wonderful!!

As we tried to guide our children in the path of the Lord, we realized that our way of getting to the marriage alter just wasn't what our Lord really wanted.  We are so thankful that we DID get to the marriage alter ... after all, look at how the Lord blessed us!!  We have our sweet Lizzy to bless our lives.  What a wonderful gift from our Lord!!  But we have all agreed that dating and agreeing to marriage without our parent's guidance and blessing before the agreement just isn't best for the couple, nor is it the best witness to the world.  Now, we understand that betrothal is the way God set forth in the Scriptures as HIS way to the marriage alter.  But, beyond all that, we have a great praise that we are still married and that our family still holds, even without all our original blessings.  

I love you, my dear husband.  I am thankful to our Lord that you are still here with me and that we are together. So many around us have parted ways ... but by the Grace of God, go we. 

Our wedding verse (our life verse) is "Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you." Matthew 6:33   For that, I am also thankful.  I must admit that we haven't always sought first the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness.  That is one of our sins and failings.  Thankfully, God forgives us.  

Well, this is our story of God's guidance and provision as so many are looking to celebrate Valentine's Day.  We don't celebrate Valentine's Day, except for sharing the candy that we might get ... :-)  Shouldn't we celebrate God's love, daily?  Love is a choice ... God chose to love us ... we choose to love God ... we choose to love each other.  We choose to keep that love ... or not.

Grace and peace unto all you who love the Lord with all sincerity.
Please, remember to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Psalm 122:6

(Aunt Sally :-)