I believe that God gives each of us a specific type of love story. Some he uses spouses, good friends, children, or even animals. Whatever it may be, it is made perfect by God. This is my love story.
I wasn’t sure that God wanted me to have a spouse. My friend, Hope, and I decided that we would just go off and join a convent than rather be wives. Some of our friends were getting married and some of the them had already decided not to go in that direction. I didn’t have time nor energy to really be interested in a guy in hopes for a spouse. I did have a boyfriend, at the time, but at this moment I hadn’t heard from him in 2 weeks. Later I had learned that he dated me so he could get close to another friend of mine. It was September 1998 and I was dealing with learning about Chiari and dealing with physical issues including random seizures and having to walk with a cane. One of my other friends called me up and told me that he had a buddy who wanted to meet a red-head with the fire in her and thought of me. I didn’t think much of it, I hadn’t seen my boyfriend in a few weeks and I was supposed to meet this guy at one of my churches. On September 6, 1998 I dressed liked usual and was on my way to the presbyterian church I attended in the morning. Suddenly I remembered that I was having a blind date with this strange guy. When we got to church we found a seat and I saved an extra seat next to us. No one sat near us until a young man with brown hair walked in and sat down two chairs down. He introduced himself to us as, Chad, and Dale suggested he come and meet me. I told him we didn’t bite and he was welcomed to scoot down if he would like. The service was about how the box could be an ordinary box, but the prize inside was wonderful. He listened intently and I joked with Hope that he was actually listening. After the service we went to eat McDonalds and played Putt-Putt at the beach. He put my wheelchair in his car and traveled with us. I had a lot of fun! I invited him to my night service too, so he went back to the apartment with Hope and I and waited with us. I think we had dinner together then there was knock on the door. Someone had alerted my boyfriend that I was on a blind date. He was standing at the door (after more than 2 weeks of being MIA from me) and he came in, took my wheelchair and put it into the back of his car then drove off towards the church. I remember looking at Hope and Chad and thought, seriously! Chad took me to the other church where the other guy was waiting. When we got inside my boyfriend had rolled me to the end of one row then sat next to me. Chad had to sit on the row next to us. At the end we were invited to go get ice cream. While there, Chad told my boyfriend that he felt like God wanted him to marry me. In front of him he turned to me and said, ‘you will be my wife’. I don’t remember responding, but I looked from one guy to the next and to my friend quietly. The next day my boyfriend and I broke up. He said, ‘I don’t want any of this!’ Wow! The following weekend my mom took me down to Hertford, NC on a small vacation. While down there I told her about this great guy I met at church who said he wanted to marry me. My mom seemed interested and suggested I should call him up and invite him to come meet her in NC. I did, then she suggested that maybe he should stay that night. We walked down the road looking at the stars and enjoying each other’s company. I began to believe that yes, this was the one God had for me. When I got back to VA the two of us went to the mall. I told him I loved Emeralds because they were always my favorite stones. We went into a jewelry store in the mall and I saw an emerald ring I really liked. We got an Indian Ring from the Gumball machine and we joked that we were going to get married. On October 15th we went to see my dad. While I was doing some things the two of them spoke about us two getting married. On our way home Chad pulled off on the side of the road and proposed to me using the song I thought was fitting for the two of us, ‘Keeper of the Stars’ by Trace Atkins. At first he gave me the Indian head ring we had joked around with a few days prior. Then he presented the ring I had seen at the mall. When we got to our young adult meeting that night, everyone knew we were getting engaged. I joked and said, “well it’s a good thing I said, yes”. On October 16th I flew to NY with my mom and a friend of hers to have brain surgery. I felt blessed that God had given me a fiancé that loved me despite all the physical problems and not knowing if I would survive this surgery or any of the other issues that will follow. After my surgery I was praying to God and I was thanking him for my life and for allowing me to be a witness. I asked that if it was His will to help me get better so that I could be a witness to my husband and one day to my children, too. During my prayers I felt that He assured me that this was the right guy and I needed to believe that he was of God. I spent 27 days in the hospital up there and when I flew home, he was waiting for me at the airport. Every day I had mail from him and I would try to write him as much as I could. It took me a long time to be able to walk again. I went to GA to have my matron of honor make my wedding dress. I came up with the design and we went around where I found material and things for the dress. Her gift to me was to make my dress for free. It was a beautiful dress! We had decided to have a Renaissance/Fairy Tale Wedding. A good friend of mine, Mrs. Wagoner, became the seamstress for the groomsmen and bridal shower. We chose to wear slippers, so I didn’t have to wear heals. My dad was dressed in a Nobleman’s outfit while the paster wore a kilt. My best friend, Tammy, worked with us and helped us set up a beautiful wedding.
On March 13, 1999 we were wed at a small church in Virginia. We chose to welcome God into our wedding. It was a beautiful ceremony. The first people to go down were three monks who each carried a flag that I made (God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit). Next the groomsmen and bridal shower went down and then the ring bearer and flower girl. Before I walked a bagpiper played ‘Amazing Grace’ while he walked down the isle. Once he was done, the doors opened up and he played, ‘The Highland’s March’ for my entrance. Many of the people at the wedding hadn’t seen me walk without my cane in almost 3 years. We wanted to show them what the Lord had done! I don’t remember much during the wedding and it wasn’t until I watched the video a few times that I even realized if something was off. It was a beautiful wedding and it was just the beginning of a beautiful story that God had written.
It hasn’t always been a bed of roses and we have had our arguments and frustrating moments. I know that I am stubborn and strong minded but so is he. Throughout our 25 years of marriage we have learned how to rely on God through it all. I feel that my husband, Chad, has more faith and trust then I could ever have and he often tells me the same. I do not know how many years we have together on Earth, but one thing is for certain, we will spend eternity together in Heaven with the God that brought our love story together!