The first time I met Carol, a mutual friend introduced us...we gave each other the once over, smiled...said hi and we both went about our way not even thinking twice about the other. The second time we met... probably a year later...well, that is a different story. Within a month of that second encounter I was pretty sure this was the woman that I wanted to marry. I was in LOVE. 5 months later, we were, in fact, married.
For those of you who know my wife, when you read this, I expect that you will be nodding in agreement.
Carol is the kindest person I know. She cares deeply about others. She talks to anybody...she talks to everybody. It doesn't matter to her if you are the president of the bank or the lady that cleaned our hotel room...she will strike up a conversation with you and genuinely be interested in what you have to say. She is polite, respectful and is never trying to draw any attention to herself. She always wants to help without looking for anything in return. She loves her family. She is a great friend. She is a hard worker. She loves to laugh.
I can't speak for Jessica or Michael....our kids (now adults.) But, I think she was and is one of the best Moms a child could have. To this day, when one of our kids comes home, their later departure is still accompanied by a very prolonged hug and... she cries. She loves our kids (and son-in-law) furiously. And she loves our kid's friends. The walls of our home are covered in photographs, taken over the years that includes pictures of our kid's friends from church, school and college. In Carol's mind she adopted all of them into our family. She has made the houses we've lived in a home...a refuge...a place that smells like a Yankee Candle store, feels as comfortable as your favorite blue jeans, and is as welcoming as you could imagine.
But you see, 30 years ago, I didn't know all these things. What I saw was a hot little brunette that seemed to like me, laughed at my stupid jokes (still does), and was so easy to talk to. Our first phone conversation wherein I asked her out for our first date lasted about 2 hours (not because I was slow to ask..I got the "will you go out with me?" question handled in the first 3 minutes.)
Our 30 year marriage has certainly had its ups and downs. There were some periods where I'm sure she wondered if this marriage would make it...wondered if she could stand to stay married to me. I have not always been the easiest person to be married to. But she has hung in there with me and I still wonder how a guy like me could have ever gotten a gal like her.
Oh...one more thing. I see Jesus in Carol. I am married to a Godly woman...a woman who has a strong faith...a woman who prays...and prays. A woman who spends a lot of time in God's Word. A woman after God's heart. When we spoke our vows in her parent's living room on a Wednesday night in front of her former youth pastor and a handful of family and friends, she made a promise to me. But she also made a promise to God. And she has kept that promise for the last 30 years. I don't expect that to change over the next 30.
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