Tuesday, August 17, 2021 God, The Matchmaker

They met at a public speaking class in college. His introductory speech included a statement about the importance of his relationship with Jesus Christ, which made her cringe and inwardly roll her eyes. She gave a speech touting the Equal Rights Amendment; he gave a speech about waxing cross country skis. They were from two different planets. But a public speaking class has a way of binding all the participants together in a shared sense of fear at exposing your weaknesses and vulnerabilities to each other. It was a small class and by the end of it, they all more or less knew each other and rooted for each other. And then they went their separate ways.

He sat next to her on the bus once and they chatted amiably. They were in the same Biochemistry class and even though they didn’t sit together, hellos were said when they ran across each other. Unbeknownst to him, she was being chased and pursued by a Holy Suitor that just would not let her go.

Toward the end of their senior year at college, they ran into each other at an initiation ceremony for an honor society. She had come with another guy, a friend whom she carelessly lost upon running into her old public speaking acquaintance. It turned out that he was a really funny fellow, something she’d not fully appreciated up until this point. He walked her back to her apartment and like a good Christian, inquired about her interest in spiritual things. “It’s funny you should ask,” she said, “Because I’ve been reading a book by Billy Graham about the Holy Spirit.” She seemed surprisingly open to discussing these things. She would be moving back to her parents house after graduation, so he wrote her parent’s phone number down on a scrap of paper and left, promising to give her a call. Again, they went their separate ways. She moved back home and promptly forgot all about him. Their whole future rested on that scrap of paper, something that could be easily lost or misplaced.

But he didn’t lose it and he did call. He invited her to a dinner with the Navigator Training group on campus that he was a part of for the summer. She was hesitant – still not sure about all of this God stuff – but she went and it was a very pleasant and eye-opening evening. Meeting a lot of regular people who were surprisingly timid about sharing their faith, she had to disabuse herself of the notion that all Christians were pushy, arrogant, and always trying to shove their beliefs down your throat. In addition, she asked her friend some pointed questions about missions, that he neither dodged, nor answered with Bible verses (which would have made her close her ears). It was an open discussion and he didn’t claim to have all the answers. She left and they went their separate ways, she to a dietetic internship in Rochester and he – well, she didn’t even know where he went. She forgot about him again for a time.

Once in Rochester, the Holy Suitor closed in on the deal and she said, “Yes.” She who once was lost, was now found; she who had been blind could now see. It was an inexpressibly sweet time in the midst of a very stressful program. Not long after this wonderful transformation, the thought of her public speaking friend wafted along into her mind and she said to herself, “I bet he was praying for me. I need to write to him to let him know what has happened.” But she didn’t know where he’d gone. The two of them almost never became the two of them. Everything hinged on that first letter. But Providence had been working on the background details of this operation for quite awhile – He had it all in hand. She remembered that her best friend knew his best friend – they worked together. She asked her best friend to ask his best friend for his new address. And in a minor miracle, both parties got right to business and passed the information on promptly.

The letter was written and sent to Ames, Iowa. A letter came by return mail right away – he had been thrilled to hear of her new life in Christ. They wrote back and forth a couple times and everything was humming along nicely in the “we are Christian friends” sort of way. And then came the Summer of Silence. He had written and she hadn’t responded, having been momentarily distracted by a crush on a fellow who went to her church and whom she had been given to understand returned the sentiment. Ah, things did not look good for the man in Ames, Iowa, nor for their future together. This little church romance, however, was nipped in the bud when their whole group went to a movie together and she looked over to see him holding another girl’s hand. Bad news for her, but good news for her Iowa correspondent.

She resumed their correspondence with a lively letter written in many different colored inks. He wrote back saying that he’d just seen the movie “Coma,” and because of her long delay in writing to him, he’d feared the worst. She read it and laughed out loud. More letters were written and then he asked if he could visit her in Rochester. Was it possible, she thought, that his regard for her went beyond a neutral, Christian brotherly affection? He came, they went for a stroll around the lake, he took her picture, she took his.

The letters continued. He came again to visit her and took her out to a French restaurant (ooh, la la!) and asked her what she thought about the idea of dating him. She was amenable to the idea, but they didn’t formalize anything and when he left, they shared an awkward hug.

They both went to the Urbana, Illinois missions conference, but had to wait until the roster came out before they could find each other among the other 18,000 participants (give or take 1,000). From then on, they were inseparable, going to talks together, eating lunch together, laughing, holding hands. The final talk of the conference was on New Year’s Eve and then it was time to go. He walked her to the bus and said, “I have needed a friend like you,” and then kissed her on that cold night under the moonlight. She floated onto the bus and they went their separate ways.

The letters came fast and thick from then on – daily missives were sent out, long, romantic, and definitely moving toward a life-long commitment. He came for another visit to her apartment in Rochester and by the light of the aquarium they talked very pointedly about what kind of lifestyle they would have if they were married, all very hypothetical. Suddenly, he said, “I know I want to marry you. Will you marry me?” And she said “Yes.”

Their wedding day was 36 years ago today and since that day, they’ve never had to go their separate ways again. Blessed be the Lord who daily loads us with benefits. He is unparalleled as a Heavenly Matchmaker.

I admit it – I love our story! In fact, I always enjoy hearing from married couples about how God brought them together. This may have seemed like a long post, but I really had to rein myself in on the telling of it, leaving scads of details out.

This has been Tuesday True Stories with Lynniebeemuseoday. Happy anniversary to us!

It doesn’t matter if I delete this post in the morning – the story lives on.