To tell you the truth, love kind of snuck up on us.  In all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world... we met on a no-frills dating website.  She sent me a brief hello on a random election Tuesday, and I said hello back. Not exactly the script from Casablanca, but it didn’t take long for me to realize that this was someone special.  Her second sentence to me was a description of her current situation in which she said she was “getting lost in a world of writing and NPR on this rare and glorious evening at home.” That was it. I was intrigued.  The conversation grew from there and immediately became fascinating. The things we had in common, the places we’d been, the destinations we longed to visit. Our love for the Lord, the difficulty and the bliss of a perfectly turned phrase. The state of the nation, the condition of our hearts and how God had shaped and molded our faith into what it is today.  I knew right away that Rebecca was one of the most intelligent people I’d ever met. It’s the first thing about her that I loved. It’s been a thrill getting to know everything else. These fundamental things, as time goes by... Her kindness, her compassion, her integrity. Her open minded heart, her ferocity, her goofiness, her joy. Her unwavering love for the Lord. The way her face lights up when she sings a song of praise. The selflessness with which she loves and the passion with which she greets each new day. She inspires me, she encourages me, she warms my heart! Every day and all the time. I can’t wait to call her my bride!

Months before I asked Rebecca to marry me, I knew where I wanted to propose. She took me to the Rockefeller Estate on one of our first dates, up a steep hill to a beautiful overlook of the Hudson River. We’d returned there enough times to officially call it “our spot.” On a hot afternoon in late June, arriving an hour before she did, I set up a picnic on top of our big, flat rock and changed into my Sunday best. I had a roundabout version of what I wanted to say, but as soon as I saw her, I couldn’t speak. I hadn’t been rendered speechless since around 1982, but she has a way about her. A habit of hers. Taking my breath away. It was a bit of a blur. I couldn’t tell you exactly what I said except that I spoke from my heart, and she joyfully assured me that it was lovely. A string quartet played a song of ours on my phone. And I cried a ton. I’m shedding a tear or two now as I write this. It was the best moment of my life. The best sound I’ve ever heard. She said yes.

We are in awe at how God brought us together, and joyfully looking forward to celebrating our union before Him with each of you on October 20th. That day will be the start of a new and beautiful chapter of life together, rich with the light and shadows that mark our journey through life in Christ. Pray with & for us, that our lives and our marriage will be offered in such a way as to honor Him, through hospitality, service, compassion, mercy and the unity of His perfect love. “Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.” ~ Colossians 3:12-14 ~