Saturday, March 19, 2011

An Aussie Fifty-Year-Old Romance

I knew all about the fiery violinist at Youth For Christ Saturday night rallies before he ever laid eyes on me. And I especially enjoyed it when he sang lead in the Gospel quartet. But I was was just one in a crowd until the Lord stepped into the picture and I was introduced to this young man by mutual friends.
Well, how can I explain it except by saying sparks flew. We found we had so much in common. And most of all, we both wanted to serve the Lord. After hearing I was a ceramic artist, he asked me whether I used my art for God. I admitted I didn't, so he promptly entered me into the current YFC talent quest. How could I stand up in front of a crowd and draw? No problem, he said. "Just find a preacher and draw what he's speaking about." Hah, easy for him to say.

However, a young married man from our church stepped up, and amazingly, we won. The prize was to join the team as they ministered in various churches and youth groups. This became a wonderful way to use our gifts in the Lord's service. It also meant we saw a lot of each other, and in turn that led to us becoming duetists. Wanting more, we decided to keep our hearts singing in harmony by marrying each other.

Soon after our marriage, we entered Emmaus Bible College to prepare ourselves for whatever the Lord would have us do. A little later, an American evangelist held meetings in Australia and he challenged us to join him as his musical team. We spent five wonderful years traveling with him along with our preschool son. When he returned to the US, the Lord opened the way for us to step out in faith and many invitations came in.

Radio opportunities began and nowadays, we script and co-present on COMMUNICATION, a program heard throughout Australia on over four hundred FM stations and on Missionary Radio, HCJB.During all this time the Lord has drawn us closer to each other. Has the romance faded? A thousand times no!

If a person commits their way to the Lord, He will guide their steps. And especially the big step of choosing a life partner. Even after these past fifty years, we love each other more than words can express and we still have the great joy of continuing in the Lord's service.

5 comments:

Dale said...

Lovely to read a little about you, Ritaand your real life love story. I'm also published Ark House Press.

Rita Galieh said...

Great to hear from you, Dale. Let's know the name of your book.

Margaret Lepke said...

Being a relationship counsellor, it is so heartwarming to read of 'success' stories! What an inspiration for your readers to keep their lives committed to God and their romance committed to their one and only partner for life :-) Thanks for the encouragement.

Rita Galieh said...

Thanks, Margaret. I am hoping to garner many more examples from real life. Watch next week for Together Forever.

Dale said...

Thanks for asking Rita. My novel is called Streets on Map. It is available from places like Koorong other selected bookshops or directly from me.