18 Years and Counting

Today Steve and I celebrated 18 years of marriage. We worshipped together at Highland Oaks and then went to Ralph and Kocos in McKinney for lunch. We had never been there. Typical of our eating experiences I really enjoyed mine, but Steve not so much. I had a shrimp medley plate and he had a seafood platter. I think if he would have asked for tartar sauce he might have enjoyed it better. We then went to see Bourne Ultimatum. Not a romantic movie, but nevertheless we both enjoyed it. Also a testimony of how a movie can have no offensive language and no sex and still be a blockbuster.

Thought I would reflect back on our 18 years. Steve and I actually met 28 years ago when some mutual friends introduced us. I was living in San Benito (where his friends Mark and Kay also lived) and Steve was living in Dallas. He came down for Easter one year and we met and went to lunch. After that we were pen pals for 10 years. Steve would write me short letters and I would write back, but never thought much about a relationship. 10 years later the same Mark and Kay were living in San Diego and I was living in Chino, CA. Steve was coming out to celebrate their son Josh's 13 birthday at Disneyland. Mark and Kay invited me to join them. They came back to my house and we had a bar-b-que with my foster daughters and as Steve and I were grilling the chicken, we kind of had a conversation that went something like "too bad we don't live closer together". Well, I was a brazen hussy and when he returned home I actually wrote a letter and suggested that perhaps we could do more than just write letters. Perhaps we could call (long time before email) and actually even fly and visit? Well that was in April and Steve made the first trip to California Memorial Day Weekend. We spent the week touring different L.A. sites. I had prayed for some very specific signs for God to show me if Steve was "the one". He answered them all. We were engaged in June and married in August. (long story made really short)

We have been blessed with a great marriage. We testify to God's sense of humor in that we are complete opposites. But the one thing we do have in common is our love for the Lord and our commitment to love one another with His love. We know that He put us together to serve one another. We have withstood several major disappointments, but have grown stronger.
I am so blessed to have a partner that is commited to making sure that we share heaven together one day. He helps me to keep my eyes fixed on Jesus. I look forward to continuing this journey called life with this gift that God has given me. I can only pray that I will be as good of a wife to him as he is a husband to me.

Steve gave me this really cool prism candle and a cross necklace.