Once upon a time, many, many Sundays ago, I walked into the sanctuary just a few minutes before the service started, and sat down next to some friends of mine. They started joking, No, no, this will never work. We need to sit boy-girl-boy-girl. You know, because that’s how mature we all were in our 20’s. After a little bit of shuffling and rearranging, I ended up sitting next to the very guy that my friend had been wanting me to meet.
All summer and autumn, my friend had been telling me, You need to meet my fiancé’s roommate. I think you would really like him! My answer back to her was always the same: I don’t want you to introduce us or set us up or plan a blind date. If God wants me to meet him, we will meet.
And unbeknownst to me, my friend’s fiancé had been telling his roommate for months and months: You need to meet my fiancée’s friend. I think you would really like her! His roommate’s answer was always the same: I don’t want you to introduce us or set us up or plan a blind date. If God wants me to meet her, we will meet.
Well, there we were that Sunday in November, sitting right next to each other in church. Apparently, God did want us to meet!
He turned to me and introduced himself, shaking my hand, and then said probably the most original “pick-up line” that has ever been spoken: So, I hear you want to be a missionary! Yes, as a matter of fact, I did want to be a missionary. He had heard correctly!
That was my heart’s desire . . . to spend my life doing something amazing for God. To tell others about Jesus. To love and serve and give all of myself, no matter what, no matter where. And the thought of finding someone else who had the same passion in his heart? My friend and her fiancé were right . . . this guy and I would really like each other!
And the rest, as they say, is history. Only seven months later, on a warm day in the middle of June, I walked down the aisle, and that guy became my husband. We promised to love each other in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, for better or worse, until death parted us. We were excited to see what the future held for us. We were excited to see where God was going to ask us to go!
