Over a quarter century ago I made a phone call to the youth pastor of my church and asked him if he was going to be busy on January 4th. He said he wasn’t, so I asked him to come to my house about 10:00 so we could go to Georgia. When he arrived Tracy, Tom, the kids and I jumped in the car and headed for Folkston. When we got there the only room available in the County Courthouse was the records room. So amidst piles of books, as the older kids looked on, we “tied the knot.” I don’t think Tracy really understood what it was going to be like inheriting a husband and three children, but she was unswerving in her commitment to marriage.
Without a lot of pomp and ceremony we had lunch on the river and then went home to begin a new chapter in all our lives. All went well for the rest of the day, until 7:00 and the door bell rang. I had made, several weeks previously, and appointment to see a vacuum cleaner demonstration and promptly forgotten it. Well, he was not taking no for an answer, regardless of the circumstances. One hour into the dirt and presentation, I looked over to see my bride sound asleep on the sofa, worn down by the events of the day. I finally pushed them out the doors at 9:30, but she had not missed a wink! What I have learned since then is that if it’s 8:00 PM and there’s a sofa close, it is naptime before the kitchen’s powerhouse cleaning! If I’m lucky I will see her at 10:30 or 11:00.
So began a unique lifelong commitment of two people. It’s a story that started with a guy and his three kids who met a woman at his church who was willing to spend time with his daughters. Who knew the girls would fall in love with her and want her as their mom? Now I look back and marvel at how clear God was that she was His choice for this motherless family. I marvel at what God can build, over time, into a relationship that has gaps and holes in its beginnings. I marvel that He knows exactly what we need in another person to change us more into His likeness. I marvel at how people, so uniquely different, coming from such different backgrounds, having such different priorities, and such different aspirations can find contentment in a life together. All those thoughts have brought me to one conclusion –we could never have made it without our common faith in the Living God.
After 25+ years the Father has revealed to me an analogy of something I see in one of God’s names. (I use the Hebrew term Hayah instead of Jehovah.) When one says “Hayah Rapha” it doesn’t just mean that God is a healer. It means: “I (the eternal existing one) am the one who is mending or will mend and heal you into a stronger person than you were before you were wounded.” It’s just like the Greek word for perfect or complete: katartizo. Besides meaning “thoroughly complete” it carries the inference that the perfection is complete because of the repairs that were done during the completion process. So when I think about our marriage I think of Hayah Rapha and katartizo. I realize that if I get somewhat close to becoming the person God wants me to be, it is partially because of my marriage and my commitment to Tracy. That commitment made me stronger than I would have been alone. God meant it when He said “it is not good for man to be alone.”
Love Dad