On a beautiful July morning, I left all my cares and concerns at the foot of Jesus as I read verse 4 of Psalm 37:
Delight yourself in the Lord,
And He will give you the desires of your heart.
I decided to be helpful. “Well, Lord, just in case You have a plan for me to marry again, I’ll make a list of what’s important to me, so I’ll recognize him when he comes!” I set about writing a list:
I’d love someone who …
Loves You, Lord, first and foremost
- Loves their family
- Already knows how to make a good marriage, preferably a widower
- Has a big, loving heart and is gentle, humble, and kind
- Has an abundant spirit
- Has an abundance of energy and a sense of adventure, so we could see our grandchildren whenever we wish
- Has an abundance of friends and family
- Has an abundance of love for You, Lord, with a desire to give to the Kingdom
- Has an abundance of love for me, Lord, that he will delight in and cherish me, grateful You brought us into each other’s life
- Is smart and well-read with a great sense of humor to take us through the rest of our journey
- (As an extra treat) would love beautiful music and Broadway theatre…and opera!
I slipped the list into the middle of my Bible and put it out of my mind for a while.
Until one special phone call…
“Mom! Mom! We’re bringing home your new husband!”
… What?
I still get goosebumps thinking about it, just as I did when Shannon said those words.
“Mom, George and Colleen have a widowed brother, and we think you sound perfectly suited for one another! And get this, Mom! His name is Don—Don Jackson. He lives on the Kings River in Kingsburg, where you spent those six months a few years ago. You loved it!”
It took me totally by surprise, but… well, I trusted my daughter. And she definitely sounded confident.
I had not dated anyone for some time. When friends tried to set me up with anyone, I honestly answered, “If God wants me to marry again, he’ll just show up at my door.
I was quite content with praying about whether or not the Lord wanted me to move!
Certainty is the mark of the common-sense life; gracious uncertainty is the mark of the spiritual life. To be certain of God means that we are uncertain in all our ways, we do not know what a day may bring forth. This is generally said with a sigh of sadness; it should be rather an expression of breathless expectation. We are uncertain of the next step, but we are certain of God. Immediately we abandon to God and do the duty that lies nearest, He packs our life with surprises all the time.—My Utmost for His Highest, April 29
A Doorstep Delivery
Well, the kids set us up on a date. I volunteered at Hoag Hospital on Thursday but asked to take off early to go home and shower, do my hair, and prepare for our date.
I walked through my back garage door and into my kitchen—only to see Don Jackson ringing the doorbell at my front door!
I had no place to hide!
Opening the door, I smiled and said, “Are you Don? You’re an hour early. I’m just getting home from the hospital!”
He was standing tall and strong at my door, holding a close-to-dead plant from my front porch in his hand.
He just smiled and said, “Well, you just take your time getting ready. I’ll go into the kitchen and water your poor plant.”
I told him to make himself at home in the living room. Walking upstairs, I said to myself, He thinks he’s here to water my plant, but I know the Lord has sent him here to water my soul. I just knew. And I remembered my earlier comments: He’ll just show up at my door….
Encouraging Interlude
We talked easily as we drove south to Laguna Beach. Driving onto the beautiful Montage Hotel property along the majestic clear blue ocean coastline was breathtaking. Don asked me what my girls thought of us going on our first date. I laughed and told him we had been talking just about every hour!
We were seated at a small table for two outside of The Studio restaurant on the water. As our food arrived, Don reached for my hand, saying, “Shall we pray?”
I was struck by his strong, large hands, warm smile, and beautiful Irish eyes.
Then I was touched by his prayer, whispered into the fresh ocean air, blessing our food and our time together and asking that our conversation would honor God. From the very first hour together, it was extraordinary and delightful!
Three and a half hours later, we realized we were the only ones left in the restaurant. Lisa, our attentive and amazing waitress, suddenly placed a large and beautiful chocolate swan dessert before us!
“Oh, you decided to order dessert?” I asked.
“No,” said Don. “Did you?”
Lighting the candle on the swan, Lisa gave us a knowing big, beautiful smile. “Happy Anniversary you two lovebirds!” Don and I looked at each other and started laughing.
“Lisa, do you know how long I’ve known this beautiful lady?”
“Well,” said Lisa, “we’ve all been in the kitchen watching you all evening, so touched by your love for each other…We’re guessing twenty to twenty-five years?”
“How about three hours!”
Lisa still had the shocked look on her face.
“I’ll tell you what, Lisa,” Don said, “If we ever do celebrate an anniversary, we’ll be sure to return and collect our candle from you!”
As we enjoyed our chocolate swan and French pressed coffee, Don slipped a napkin from beneath his cup, took out his pen and said, “I wasn’t going to ask you this until the end of the weekend, but what would a beautiful lady like you look for in a marriage relationship?”
“As a matter of fact,” I replied, “I recently wrote some things down not too long ago.” He wrote as I listed what was on the note tucked away in my Bible at home. After a moment, I slipped the napkin from beneath my cup and asked him the same question.
And we each kept those napkins in our wallets until they disintegrated!
We’ve told the story of our first dinner at the Montage Hotel overlooking the ocean many times in the years we’ve been married, and Don always adds, “I’ll never forget sitting there with Jo, with the sun setting in the west with the big, round full moon coming up over the hills of Laguna! Never saw such a beautiful thing.”
And that’s what can happen when God’s faithfulness writes your love story.
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