Once upon a time...

Once upon a time, 39 years ago, my parents met...

Today, September 14th, 2012, they are celebrating their 38th wedding anniversary. Growing up, I never noticed the intricacies of how God brings things together. I wasn't aware enough to observe, let alone appreciate them. You don't really think of your parents as "real people." They were just always Mommy and Daddy...

But they weren't always my mommy and daddy. They were Dick and Robin. Dick was a young man, thirsty for adventure, in his early 20s, enlisted and serving in the Coast Guard, recently stationed in Northern Virginia. Robin was a sweet, somewhat sheltered young girl about a year older, finishing up her senior year in the teaching program at George Mason College. Robin had grown up, naive and protected, never really dating anyone because no one particularly interested her. Dick... well... we'll call him the rebel. ;) But a reformed rebel that had been changed by Christ when he was 18.

They met in the spring, working through a local Young Life chapter. Dick had just been relocated to the area on his ship, and early that year, they were assigned to lead a Young Life club together. (Schools were year round, and Dick was stationed on a nearby base.) They saw one another's passion for the Lord as they worked side by side. And they enjoyed each other's company. So things continued amicably enough. Robin graduated in May, and Dick got her a graduation card. She took a job working in the nearby school system with primary age children. In June, Dick started hanging around more. He was living on base, and Robin and her roommates had a house nearby. So Dick would come over and work on their cars, or fix things, or do whatever needed to be done. And he would stay around and talk to Robin. Her family and friends started noticing, and started conveniently orchestrating dinners, and then remember other plans... so SOMEbody had to eat the food... ;) Robin was finding that she really liked receiving attention from Dick, and even doing silly things like squirt gun fights or staying up to all hours, talking about nothing in particular. And, you may laugh, but for the first time, she didn't think she'd mind being kissed by this particular young man, should he ever try. ;) (On past dates, she admitted to strategically playing with her necklace over her mouth in case the boy got any ideas. And even once, trying to end a date on her doorstep, she actually said, ever so politely to an unfortunate young gentleman, "If you want to make this the perfect night, please don't kiss me." Yep, that's my mom. ;) )

Now, this could be your typical "boy meets girl" story, but the Lord works intricately and intentionally, so that there's no mistaking His own craftsmanship... And you have to factor in my Dad. Dick had had a history with the ladies. (He was really cute in his uniform. It's not that much of a surprise... ;) ) In and out of relationships, he had struggled. And a little while before meeting Robin, he had resolved and told God (ha!), in an effort at maturity and purity, that he was swearing off women. They were a stumbling block and a distraction, no matter how disciplined he tried to be, so he was cutting off the hand that sins, so to speak... So when he met this sweet young lady with a beautifully gentle and quiet spirit, who feared the Lord and responded to his attention, he couldn't figure out what he was supposed to do with that. CLEARLY this must be the enemy's attack on his character and faithfulness, but he was a strong man! He would fight it... fight the feelings, fight the whispers, fight the external commentary from others... But he couldn't shake it... This girl was different. And he desperately wanted to protect her, even from himself. 

So, Dick and Robin were hanging out a lot by the end of that summer, but technically weren't "dating" as they were both staff workers with Young Life, and it wouldn't have been allowed. Dick was trying to figure out what in the world to do with this inner turmoil, as Robin was growing in affection, but simply having to trust and pray and guard her heart because this boy was all over the map and not saying a word. Now, there's one more thing that started happening about 5 months into this friendship, around August of that year. Robin started having dreams. When she tries to describe them now, she can't do it, but they were all to the same effect. Dick and she were going to be together... But was this a girl's wishful thinking? An unguarded heart running away? She resolved to pray and wait, and pondered them in her heart. Again, he hadn't said a word, so she didn't know. (All those who are fans of the clear DTR plan are squirming right now... ;) ) But things seemed different...

And then, one night about 6 months from when they originally met, Dick, the righteous fighter, woke up abruptly in the middle of the night. He sat up in bed in a sweat, and exclaimed aloud, "Ok! I'll marry her in September!" He didn't know exactly what he had just dreamed, but he knew upon waking, that the Lord had said this was His plan. Dick had confirmation, in no uncertain terms. The Lord had picked Robin for him. But she was so innocent, so pure... He didn't want to mess this up, but he feared the Lord and knew something had to be done.

So, that weekend, he invited her to go on a picnic with him. This particular weekend, though, Dick was on a "death watch." When someone super important dies, a member of each branch of the military take shifts standing a continuous watch over their body from the period of death to burial. (Think of what we saw at Reagan's funeral.) There was a 5 star general that was close to passing away, and Dick had to check in every 15 minutes by finding a pay phone, calling a number and asking, "Is he dead yet?" (Yeah, perfect date, right? ;) ) But he NEEDed to talk to her. So, Robin packed a basket lunch and they went out to Great Falls Park. She could tell he had something on his mind, but they talked about other things for over an hour, with him getting up every 15 minutes to make his phone call. Finally, towards the end of this time, Dick couldn't hold it in anymore, and confessed, "I have to tell you something. I had this dream..." And proceeded to share the very limited details he could remember, but that he woke up with that exclamation that they were supposed to get married in September... "So," he finished warily, "what do you think?"

Of all the lines a guy uses to propose... ;) No ring, no knee, no banner in the sky. He had stated the facts and awaited this young lady's reply... But what he didn't know yet was that the Lord had been at work in her heart as well, and this wasn't a shock to Robin. She'd dreamed this. She knew. The Lord had made it clear, independently of his actions and words, this was the man she was called to support and love and follow. God had worked everything out. He had called Dick and Robin out to covenant their lives together to Christ. He had done it, not them, and they both knew it without a shadow of a doubt. They saw, and heard, and believed, and obeyed. Sure enough, the next September (about a year later), they were married.

One more fun fact... As any good little sister, my mom's teenage sister, Claire, was involved in Young Life club in high school at the time. She and her friends had seen this thing developing and everyone was gunning for it. The high school kids had a retreat that same picnic weekend out to Windy Gap, and apparently, while there, she and her girlfriends had decided to pray all weekend that Dick and Robin would get engaged. So when they got back, and Robin picked Claire up from the bus and shared what had happened the day before, Claire got to excitedly bound back to her girlfriends, saying, "It worked! It worked!" ;)

And 38 years later, my parents are still in love, still serving Christ, and still completely confident in the beautiful tapestry that God Himself spun and unveiled so many years ago. Even talking to her tonight about it, she said, "We couldn't do anything else. It couldn't have happened any other way. Divorce or not staying in it were never an option. Because God did this, not us. There wasn't any room to doubt, even now." To God be the glory. :)

I, for one, am so thankful that in these two people's lives, the proverb was confirmed true: "A man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps."

Happy anniversary, Mommy and Daddy. :) Glad you fell in love with Christ and with each other, and I pray that you enjoy doing it all over again this year, just as every other!