OUR GREEN GARDEN WEDDING

He sat on the far side of my high school classroom, leaning up against the wall, watching me with puppy dog eyes. I wasn't interested, but he was patient. Very patient.

Jim and I attended a Christian boarding school in Canada in the mid 70s. This school had strict social regulations that limited conversations between girls and guys outside of class hours. Under these circumstances, it took nearly a year for me to start eyeing him back, and there were limited avenues for growing a relationship. Certainly no smooching in the corner, holding hands, or even lengthy getting-to-know-you talks.

At that time our home towns were half a province apart, but soon after high school graduation in 1977, our families both moved, settling in towns separated by a mere ninety miles. This provided a much more conducive setting for a romance to develop--and develop it did! We married a little more than three years out of high school and promptly leaped into parenthood with the birth of our daughter 13 months later. Two and a half years after that we welcomed our son, and we're tremendously thankful for both our kids.

Who knew how much we had in common back then? Not us. We're so grateful to God for joining two people who passionately love nature, especially oceans and streams and mountain lakes. We both prefer rural living and are content on our forty-acre farm where we grow much of our own food. Both of us had parents who farmed, gardened, and preserved food for winter. We'd grown up loving homemade breads, soups, and healthy meals made from scratch, and have passed on this priority to our kids and their spouses. In these days of local food advocacy, we're in a position to teach others some of the skills we've been practicing over thirty years.

* Valerie Comer's life on a small farm in western Canada provides the seed for stories of contemporary inspirational romance. Like many of her characters, Valerie grows much of her own food and is active in the local foods movement as well as her church. She only hopes her imaginary friends enjoy their happily ever afters as much as she does hers, gardening and geocaching with her husband, adult kids, and adorable grandchildren. 

In her debut novella, "Topaz Treasure" her main character loves real food as well. She has woven in a boldness for her talking to people about their eating habits while shy about sharing her faith. What will it take to balance this in her life? See  http://valeriecomer.com