Taking a cue from another, and another, I am forcing myself to post those unusual events that led to my marriage to Joe. I thought much through the day, when my mind was not actively involved with children, how I could even approach this subject. The last time I tried, I got laughed at.
So here it comes in the form of a list.
God blessed me!!!!
Dear Father, may this list of thanks be representative of what you did and continuing to do for me and my family.
1. Thankful Joe was drunk the night we met.
Huhhh!!!! Because of this, he didn't talk a word, just smiled and nodded his head to every word I said. What can I say, it was 1979, Thanksgiving break and me and the girls were at a local disco. I thought, this guy is so different.
2. Thankful I was taking a Business Management class and Joe fit the "T" test. You know, the one where you put your assets and liabilities together. Since I was only 18 (legal drinking age at that time) his assets clearly outweighed his liabilities.
Stupid as I was, it was more important that night as I stood there blabbering along that a guy had a nice car, college degree, aspiring minor league baseball player, and he seemed to enjoy every thing I said. My girlfriend was egging me on about his specifics since she was dating his neighbor.
3. Thankful the first time I met his family was Christmas Eve. We went to the midnight service together and the incredible and unique beauty of Jesus portrayed in mosaic bewildered me. He is not on the cross, but I feel the artist wanted to portray his love for us by having him on a throne, holding the world with angels worshiping around him. It really is an amazing work of art.
It took most the service for me to realize why his eyes struck me so funny. I finally realized they were baby blue with a slight hint of bags under them (a family trait). So were Joe's. When I told this story to someone, they laughed hilariously. Well, at 18, it had an impact or I wouldn't be repeating it.
I don't feel a resemblance anymore...both have new meaning to me.
4. Thankful Carrie Underwood sang her song "Jesus Take The Wheel". About one month later, Joe got so angry with me, jealousy had set in after every weekend we were together and he drove me back to college. One night after he left, after fighting in his car I prayed to everyone I could. I laid awake for approximately 30 minutes, I hit on God to protect him, Jesus, Mary, my mother in heaven to protect him on his drive home. I didn't know why I felt such urgency to call out but I did. Approximately 90 minutes later there was a knock on my dorm room door and I was summoned to take a call from the phone on my wing. Joe was in a full blown panic attack. Somehow the wheel was taken from his hand on the drive home as he drifted to sleep. Joe is not the kind of guy to make this stuff up, much less be in a panic. The day his finger was shredded from his hand, he was the one who drove the boat in. A day we joke about now.
5. Finally, thankful I didn't realize he was proposing marriage. We were in my living room at home, just a couple weeks later and he closed the gap between us and said, "you know we could get married". "Yes we could" was my answer. We had just "rounded the bases" physically the weekend before, a first for both of us, and I did tell God I would marry this guy. I just wasn't expecting it to be so soon. It was the first time I saw him cry.
Well that's the scoop. Sorry for the graphic detail, Joe had dated many, me hardly at all, but I was headed in the wrong direction looking for acceptance. My girls know this story, why not more!
Thanks be to God!
Happy Thursday!
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