My Lovely

Hopefully we all take time out from our busy schedules to reflect from time to time. I have been doing that a lot lately. I look at my life and think, "Wow." I am not a financially rich man. I am not poor either I suppose, but many would laugh at my salary. What they wouldn't laugh at though is my true wealth. God has blessed me with many things (which includes my dashing good looks). Obviously my salvation through his grace is the most amazing wealth I own. Through his mercy and grace though he has also blessed me with the most amazing wife.

I was very cautious with relationships before Arlie. I saw all these people with unhappy marriages and lives. I didn't want to settle for second best. There were girls that came my way, but I would lose interest quickly because something didn't seem right to me. I refused to settle. Some people thought I was crazy and would never get married because I could always find something wrong with a girl. I was too "picky." I admit I am picky. I wanted the best. I wanted the person that God had carved out just for me. I wouldn't settle for anything less than the best.

When I met Arlie at the Cornerstone Music Fest in Bushnell, IL I knew she was the one very early on. We met just by "chance" at a music festival with 30,000 people there. The problem though is that she lived 1200 miles away in Lebanon, PA. We would talk on the phone and as she spoke, I would listen to the things she said and stand amazed. She was what I was looking for. She is what I wanted. I knew she felt the same way, but she was still in college and I was just going back to college after taking a short sabbatical. How could we make this work? The distance was so difficult. We had some ups and downs as we tried to figure our relationship out. One thing that never changed though is that even though our family and friends thought we were crazy is that we both knew we were meant for each other, but the obstacle of distance, money and finishing our educations were in the way. I would go visit her in PA and she would visit me here in Mo. This went on for over 3 years.

We talked every night on the phone. Sometimes all I had was her voice. We learned how to communicate very well before we were even married. I honestly think that this gave us an advantage to some young couples because we were not with each other physically for most of our "dating" relationship. We knew each other very well because communication is all we had. After Arlie graduated from college we finally got to have more than just the phone. She moved to MO to be with me since I still had some college to finish. We got married, I finished college and now we have a family. Amazing right?

There is more to this story than I could really type right now, but as you can see we met under unique circumstances and also dated in a unique way. That is all amazing that it actually worked. What is more amazing to me still though is how God knew that Arlie was my perfect match. She is my best friend. I never get tired of being around her. Her laugh lights up the room and her smile melts my heart. She is more than I could have ever asked for. She is one of the strongest people I know. She is an incredible mother and wife.

I look at our life together and I continually realize I am rich. Because of her in my life I am wealthy. She is truly My Lovely.