Sunday sentiments

A deviation from the topic.

This is the flower arrangement by my talented friend, Julie, that decorated the podium at church today. It gave me something on which to ruminate while I daydreamed through some of the sermons, thinking about my own answers to prayer.

Many of you have heard this story before, but I like to tell it. 

It reaffirms the meaning of my life.

Many years ago, I was engaged to be married to the "love of my life".

And it wasn't Jeff.

He filled every corner of my heart and none of my thoughts existed without him in them.

Yet, when I prayed for confirmation of the rightness of the relationship, there was none.

I prayed.

And prayed.

With no answer.

He eventually dumped me, rather unceremoniously and with good reason, by cassette tape from the Philippines, where he was serving a mission.

I was devastated for a long time.

Years.

During which I dated quite a few worthy men and a few rascals.

And, after a while, when nothing seemed to work out, I started to pray that the Lord would let me know when I met my husband-to-be, so that I could be done with all the uncertainty.

Well, the moment I met Jeff for the second time (I know, but it's a long story) I knew we would marry.
Bells rang.
That was it.
No doubt.
He knew it too.
And it has sustained us through many a rocky stretch of this road that we call marriage.

So, this weekend, we are finally getting away for our 31st anniversary.
Every few days since the beginning of the year, Jeff has been asking When are we going away? and I feel like a bad wife.
I've been planning my Haiti trip and now a trip to New Zealand in April, so the myriad details of a weekend trip have escaped me.
So this week I buckled down and booked hotels and planned outings.

He will be a happy man.