Today, the 20th of May, is a special day for Pat and me. We were married 19 years ago. Our wedding took place outdoors, behind our church. About 500 people stood in the heat and watched us exchange our vows. Well, not everybody stood. It was quite an eclectic crowd. At the time, we belonged to a Christian Cycle Club. About twenty gigantic motorcycles ringed one side of the yard with their riders mounted securely aboard. Some folks were in suits and pretty dresses. Others were in blue jeans and leathers. Yep, quite a mixture.

We have an interesting semi-annual event here in central Florida. We are invaded by Love Bugs. Now, these are not cute little Volkswagons. No, they’re pesky little bugs whose taste is so bitter, even the birds won’t eat them! I call them “airplane bugs” because they always fly “United”. The love bugs showed up in full force a few days before our wedding. I could just see them crawling around us and all our guests. The day before the wedding, I went over to the property and asked God to rid the immediate neighborhood of the love bugs. Wedding day? Not a single love bug could be found! Ain’t God good?

As a gift to Pat, I offered to take care of all the details for the wedding. A dear friend made a lovely wedding cake for just the cost of the ingredients. I think it cost me about $50. Other friends provided nuts and some sort of fizzy punch. Pat made a dress for her and Kathleen. All us boys wore suits. That was it. My three teen-agers gathered with us and served as our attendants. That’s right. Pat married into a family with three teen-agers already onboard.

Let’s go back a little and let me tell you the story about how Pat and I met. I became a widower at the age of 40. I determined to carry on and be there for our children. Part of carrying on involved fulfilling commitments I’d made before Joyce’s death. I served as speaker for Spiritual Emphasis Week at a local Christian school. Later, I went to a local church to represent the teen center I directed. I seriously thought of canceling, but decided that it would be the Lord’s plan for me to continue showing up for scheduled meetings.

After I finished speaking at this church, I was finally able to head out the front door. As I stepped up into the van, I heard this voice behind me. As I turned to see where the voice came from, my heart did a huge flip flop. Here was a beautiful, lovely woman who wanted to talk to me! She asked if she could speak with me for a minute. She asked me several questions about the teen center. She thought it might be a good place for her teen-age next door neighbor, whom she’d led to the Lord earlier, to make some Christian friends. I suggested that she bring her to a concert at the teen center a week later.

Even though I didn’t fully comprehend the significance of that meeting at the time, as my eyes met hers, it was like the Voice inside said, “That’s the woman you’re going to marry.” You could have knocked me over with a feather,. No light task, I might add, knocking me over with a feather.

Pat and her young friend showed up at the concert. I remember sitting in my office chair in the doorway of my office. I can’t tell you who the group was that played that night. My eyes never left Pat the entire evening! I felt a little like a schoolboy!

Our first “date” consisted of going to the beach and sitting at a picnic table. We talked for more than five hours. She saw the purpose of this “date” as comforting a hurting brother. She certainly wasn’t looking for a husband. As we talked, I explained what I’d sensed that first evening I’d met her. It didn’t take long for her to see that while I probably needed comforting, perhaps God had brought us together for some other purpose than comfort. At the end of the evening, she asked if I thought my kids would still be up. They were. She met them that night and everything seemed to go well.

There were so many things I began to see in Pat’s life. She was totally sold out to the Lord. After her conversion several years before, she led nearly everybody in her entire extended family to Jesus . She is a talented singer. Her voice still moves me. After our marriage, in addition to mothering our three teens, being a wonderful companion to me, she learned to play the guitar very well. She worked diligently and put out an album, “My Shepherd Knows” which has been a blessing to many, many folks. Pat was a tremendous help at the teen center I directed. She started a puppet ministry that not only involved a lot of the kids, but reached out to churches and other groups of people in this area.

She’d always wanted to finish college. In addition to everything else with which she was involved, she graduated summa cum laude in a class of several thousand. There just didn’t seem to be any end to her talents. Beyond all of these accomplishments, she has loved me unconditionally. Well, I’m a feeling sort of a guy and not ashamed to admit it. I love her, too. With all my heart!

We’ve now been married 19 years. Were there adjustments? You bet! Hard adjustments? Absolutely! However, the good that God has brought to our lives together has far outweighed the tough times. We’ve lived through more than 10 years of Pat’s poor health from which she has now just about fully recovered. We’ve ministered together. Our future looks good. We’re excited and challenged about all the things God still has for us to do for and through Him.

I want to offer this piece as a tribute to one of the very finest ladies this world has ever produced. I can’t begin to express to you how blessed and honored I feel to have been privileged to share my life with Pat. Yeah, life has certainly had both ups and downs for both of us. However, God’s grace has been sufficient. Indeed, He does work all things together for our good, even those things meant for our harm. I want to encourage you and tell you that with God’s help, any of us can survive anything. In fact, not just survive, but overcome!

WHAT ARE THE LIFE LESSONS IN THIS PIECE?

• We can’t control all the events of our lives.
• Sometimes bad things happen to good people.
• We can make the very most out of the lives which God has given us.
• We can make good choices so that we have few if any regrets when we get through with this earthly walk.
• We can choose to tackle and work through the challenges that come our way and come out victorious on the other side!
• Make the most out of what God’s given you. We never know how long life as we know it will last!

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