How "We" Came to Be...

I love how Google photos shows me memories each day from the same day in years gone by. Wow, the things we did, the places we went, the moments we experienced that I would forget if I didn't have a reminder... This picture from last year of Lamar and I at the farewell party of a dear friend made me glow with warm memories of that day. Upon a second glance at this picture today, tho, I saw the baseball glove in Lamar's hand and my mind went all the 'way back to 1989 or 1990 when I was a girl of 13 in the 7th grade. I was a newbie to the high school room that year, and felt a little awkward inside, altho I hid that very well behind the protective veneer or confident superiority. But I did feel very awkward around all the upper graders in that room. Especially when we went out to play softball at recess time. Until a certain gentlemanly gesture melted that scared feeling and ultimately changed my life to date.

Mr. Lamar was in the 9th grade and well liked by many and had already turned the heads of a few of the girls. Why he chose me that day, I don't know, but in my memory, I can still see him shyly handing me his dark red baseball glove, offering it to me to use when his team was up to bat. And that is how our 'love story' began. To this day, that memory serves to remind me how this man of mine has always protected me and cared for me well. He has most always been the steady one in our relationship, holding me up through many a day of grief as I walked through deep heart pain. He has been the one person in my life that has provided continuous safety as I stood on wobbly feet as a newborn Christian five years into our marriage and then stepped aside as I learned to fly, letting me find my sure footing in Jesus.

My heart weeps as I think of how incredibly blessed I have been. I do not deserve such a gift, but I certainly receive it with thanksgiving and gratitude to the One who gave it, even tho I started out in this 'love story' backwards, with me at the center instead of Jesus.

Tho my husband is a man and certainly has his faults like any other man in this world, I am so happy to do life with him and I bless him in whatever way I can for rescuing me and for all the 'red baseball glove moments' he has gifted me with over the years through his quiet selfless acts of service to me and his family.