A Gracefull Place

Is this tomorrow?! 

 

 

Between sharing a computer with 10 other people and having problems with the internet (or with our computer getting the internet!) and just being too busy, here it is nearly a week later! 

 

 

So now you get the Rest of the Rest of the Story!   

 

 

As I had said, I came home from France and Dallas asked me out.   Now I had been mentored by a lady on the same college program while in France, and one thing we went over was that dads should talk to the young man to get to know him and where he is spiritually.   Kind of a forerunner to courtship today!  (That wasn’t a buzzword back then!)

 

 

So I advise my dad that day before Dallas came over that he was supposed to talk to him.   He says, "What am I supposed to talk about?" 

 

 

I said, "I don’t know!  Just get to know him a little. Make sure he’s okay for me to go out with."   (Yeah, that should be done BEFORE the date was even planned, but we were new at this!  LOL!)

 

 

Dallas arrives, and it just so happened that my grandmother was living with us, and my uncle and aunt from out of town were there mainly to visit her.  My other grandparents happened to be there, too.  Dallas thought I’d gathered the troops to check him out!!!

 

 

 

And then Dad came up with the classic "get-to-know-this-guy" line:

 

 

"That bucket of rust run?!"   

 

 

AHHHHHHHH!  DAAAAAAADDDDDD!!!!

 

 

Dallas joked around with Dad about it (his truck was green and rust–the rust was not a part of the original color!)

 

 

I guess you can tell a lot about a guy when you insult his truck!!!

 

 

I was amazed because pretty much our whole date we talked of the Lord!  I was full to overflowing with all the Lord had done for me and shown me while overseas, and he was a willing listener!  And had some things to add, himself!

 

 

Later I was to find out that he was impressed by my love of God–that was what he wanted!  Wow!

 

 

I figured if the guy didn’t want to take me out because I was "too religious" then I didn’t want to go out again!

 

 

 

Most of the rest of our dating took place with groups or family around.   His youth group picnic.  Then mine.   Then 4th of July with my family.  

 

 

I worked at an academy for their summer camp helping with laundry.  I was sorting laundry one day towards the end of the camp.  I can still remember it was towards the end of the day when we sorted the "campers’" clothing into their bins and put them all in their duffel bags to be delivered, and I was throwing socks into the bins. 

 

 

I had read a book while overseas (one of many!) called Your Half of the Apple by Gini Andrews.   There are so many good courtship books now that it might be hard to believe there were hardly any back in the "dark ages"!    This one was radical to me then (now it would seem hardly radical at all compared to the plethora of books that are even more conservative!).    I realized that God had one person for me and I didn’t have to have romantic relationship after romantic relationship to "find" the right one.  I liked that idea!  No more broken hearts!

 

 

So I made a "deal" with God.  "God, don’t let me fall in love again unless it’s the right one!"

 

 

 

You have to understand that NO ONE I knew believed all this!   I felt weird (what else is new?!) and alone, yet I knew there had to be a better way!

 

 

As I was sorting socks that afternoon, I remember "reminding" God of our "deal".  "God, You promised You wouldn’t let me fall in love again unless it was the right one.  God, I feel like I’m falling in love!"

 

 

Then a little later, "God, remember, You PROMISED!"

 

 

Finally, just before I was done, "God, if Dallas is not the right one, then just let this relationship go no further.  Just stop it."  

 

 

Of course, He answered His promise!  

 

 

Dallas and prayed about each other a LOT!  He had also "almost married someone else".   Both of us knew we were better single than married out of God’s will.

 

 

We decided to take two weeks to pray about our relationship.   Obviously the answer was yes! 

 

 

Although we already had pretty much given our hearts to each other, we were willing to do whatever we felt the Lord truly wanted for us.  We searched honestly, not "okay-God-I’m-bending-this-to-say-what-I-want"!   Somewhere I have a journal that probably has the Scriptures God used to confirm to me that Dallas was "the one"!

 

 

In spite of not having anyone around to "mentor" us in courtship principles, and in spite of doing it imperfectly, God was merciful!   We still had "baggage" from our dating years, but by God’s grace He has taken care of that and given me my heart’s desire in my husband!

 

 

Remember in the last post, when I said that the spring I was overseas was an intense time of spiritual growth?   It hurt!!!   In fact, it was April of that year (1982) when God asked me a hard question:  Was I willing to remain single for the rest of my life, if that were His will?

 

 

That’s a scarey question for a 19 year old!

 

 

 

It was a little bit of a struggle, but ultimately, I wanted His will–and Him.   If that was what He wanted, it was better than being married out of His perfect will!

 

 

I realize now that He wanted me to look to Him to meet my expectations–that makes for a much better wife when she learns that before marriage!

 

 

NOT that I have practiced that perfectly all these 27 years!!!  I still had some growing to do (and still do!)!   But I’m so grateful He started me on that path before I married!

 

 

Okay, one last detail!

 

 

When we were pretty sure we were "for each other", I jokingly asked him, "So if you propose, are you going to get down on one knee?"

 

 

 

He told me, "Are you kidding?!  I’ll get down on both knees!" 

 

 

Just a week or so after that, we took a walk by a lake one night after church.   We came to the swings (we call them porch swings–only without the porch!).    We sat there and talked for awhile, then we were quiet.  

 

 

He gets up from the swing, then gets down on both knees!

 

 

"Honey, I’m on both knees!"   And he proposed!

 

 

And I said yes!

 

 

And 6 months later we married, and have been very happy ever since!

 

 

And now you know the rest of the story!  

 

 

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