My life changed forever...

I'm remembering the moment I was introduced to him. He was that handsome and some what shy drummer. It was the very back pew of our old church building that we were introduced for the first time. Little did I know that I would spend the rest of my days with him.

I had high hopes. Dreams. Global dreams. I wanted to travel the world and...oh, the glamour of missionary work! The zeal that youth can bring. Inspiration.


I smile thinking back on those times. So naive and innocent. I had just returned home from a Missions trip to Russia and Finland. Next plan was to attend Bible College. Marriage was the very last thing on my mind.

Funny, how God, in His magnificent Plan, can change things so dramatically! I am always amazed at how He works. Watching it all unfold can be very frustrating at times and sometimes hard to understand....but looking back on the completed work is awesome.

Randy was always such a gentleman. That completely impressed me. His quiet demeanor made me want to get to know him. He wasn't loud and obnoxious like a lot of other guys. But he was always so much fun to be with! (I truly never knew what he saw in me that was impressive. I was so serious!)

The night he revealed his feelings toward me began a wonderful journey of love and friendship that I will forever cherish. We courted (I like those old-fashion words!) for fourteen months and married on a beautiful June afternoon. Our wedding was simple, yet marked by God's presence. My beautiful Momma had worked so hard to make things pretty, but I realize now that His arrival was what really sealed our vows. Knowing that the Lord had a part in our ceremony meant more to me than candles and roses.

My precious daddy walked me down the aisle. I was letting go of his hand and his name to be joined together with my best friend and lover. When I reached Randy's side, I noticed tears in his eyes. "Unforgettable" had played during the wedding party's entrance. That old, vintage song described exactly how I felt at that moment.

In all Randy's reality-thinking, serious, give-it-much-thought-and-prayer ways, he was marrying a fly-by-night-kind-of-woman!

I remember enjoying just getting to be with him 24/7. Now we went home together...in our own little house on Florida Avenue North. Those were amazing and marvelous feelings for me.

Nine years we enjoyed our special togetherness. Late nights, vacations, fancy meals and lots of friends and entertaining made our marriage alive with excitement!

Bro. Solomon from Ethiopia opened up a new avenue of need when he asked one night if we had children. I had wanted one. Randy....no. He told me that they would pray.

Within a short time, Landon Isaac came. Our "Wara Crusade baby". (Ask me about it, if you don't know the story!) Now our lives revolved around this tiny bundle of soft skin and beautiful blue eyes. Our love had produced this amazing new miracle of life. God is so good.

Anna Elizabeth Kaye came two and a half years later with a wonderful pregnancy and delivery. She won the hearts of everyone around her! Her curly ringlets and bright smile still overwhelm me at times. She was my gift from God. My little girlfriend.

During this time, we sold our little love nest and built a new home only a mile or so away. A new neighborhood. Beginning again. Everything seemed new and fresh like a spring morning!

Our lives changed the moment we found out we were having twins....boys....wow! We sat in silence as the ultrasound revealed, not one, but two. This surprise carried us into many months of challenges ahead.

The night my precious husband and I came home from the hospital, it was storming. The older children were with family and our new preemie twins were snuggled in their hospital beds at the Neonatal ICU.

We were alone...together.

Because of the storm, our electricity was off. We ate by candle light and sat silently contemplating the many months ahead of the unknown.

Our love had taken us down this road. It was a time of learning and building....inside.

Exhaustion came. Worry. Fears.....then, through the prayers of others, Faith built a road of hope in our hearts. Our love had to mature through those times. A month of constant travel to the NICU. Monitors and oxygen tanks lined our bedroom. Loud and blaring beeps throughout the night separated our sleeping arrangements and forced us to....love at a distance.....for a while.

Then with each new day came hope.

Happy and healthy little toddler twins running wild on our hardwood floors! Words that make their daddy and me grin and ask for more. Laughing and tickling big brother and sister. Picnics and Andy Griffith. "Bubba's ball night", "Ice-team tone...peese!" and "Hallelulah" fill our ears...and we laugh.

Sacrificing has become a personal journey for us individually. Sacrificing our time.....our interests...our sleep....and, just as we will celebrate and travel together as a family for our 18th Anniversary this coming Sunday, sometimes our dates....yet, we will never sacrifice our love...deep love for one another.

I am always amazed at his interest in me. Those glamorous dreams of my youth are replaced with a different and more meaningful mission. I am his. I can't explain it....I know that in my heart he could have had much better, but he was made for me and I for him.

The day I met Randy Jones my life changed forever.....

Would I do it again? Without a doubt...you bet!

Happy Anniversary, Baby.....I love you.