….met a girl from Colorado

….in New Mexico….

And the opening chapter of our love story was written.

He was tall, red headed — balding, wore a red beard and drove a fast car. I followed him around, flirting, for seven months before he asked me out. It was about time. He worked nights; I worked days. We fell in love over his cancelled vacation due to a terrible snow storm, and my week off work recuperating from a car accident, picnic lunches he would bring to my office, late night phone calls during his “lunch hour”, and sight seeing excursions. Six weeks after our first date, he asked me to marry him and I had the wisdom to say yes. Six months later we said, “I do,” and the next chapter of our story began.

John, aka my Mr. Gorgeous, is my best friend. The hair — a bit more sparse now — and beard are both liberally sprinkled with a salty white. During the past twenty-eight years, we’ve raised three boys, attended and graduated from college, pastored three churches, lived in five different states, gone on three cruises, and traveled extensively. I wish you could know him. Some of you do, I know, but not all of you. So, please allow me to take a few lines and introduce to you my man.

He would pile three boys in a recliner and read one story for each son when it was suppose to be one bedtime story. John taught the boys how to eat an Oreo — dunked in milk, of course. When mom had trouble getting the boys to understand the importance of cleaning their room, he allowed the boys to each choose one toy and then boxed up all the others. They each lived with only one toy for a whole week. Cleaning moved up on their priority scale after that. He sold his own things to make sure that his family had what it needed, and sometimes what it simply wanted.  When I shared my dream of being a teacher, he made a way for me to go to school and complete my teaching credentials.

His sense of humor is one of my favorite things. He can take almost any situation and find something to laugh about. In my opinion, that is a valuable trait. Kindness, quiet leadership, strength, and generosity are all marks of his character.

As a follower of Christ, John goes where God leads and he chooses to serve the Lord with his whole heart.

He is a sacrificial, caring, loving, and Godly man.

And he is my best friend.

Today is his birthday and our anniversary; I’m thankful for my boy from Iowa and I’m glad he went to New Mexico to marry this Colorado girl!