TOGETHER FOREVER - A Story of two police constables

 

Sarah and Mitch's wedding cake - handcuffs and all!

It's not often two police from the same local area command get married. Want to know how it happened? 

Sarah joined the force in 2009, and she was placed in the same area where Mitch worked in General Duties. Her training officer was a good friend of Mitch and made sure they were introduced to the new recruit. But this being her first year, Sarah was determined to focus on this alone, without distractions. 

However, this burly constable was immediately attracted to this attractive blonde and decided to follow up. He chatted with her awhile and mentioned he attended church. Sarah's ears pricked up. She never expected to meet a fellow Christian in the police force because she knew the lifestyle and the exposure to the worst of people was challenging to both body and spirit. But their conversation flowed easily as they spoke about church and families. When Mitch invited her to a colleague's house to meet others in their workplace, she readily accepted as she wanted to see where his interest in her led.

They spent the whole evening talking together for hours, and Sarah felt like they'd been friends for years. And after dating him several times, she came to the conclusion that there was much more to this man than his tough exterior and the no-nonsense approach he displayed at work. Without being aware of it at first, they both fell in love. No other relationship had been so right for either of them. They simply began as friends and knew they fit together like two halves joined.

Both agree they'd never thought they'd ever meet a Christian partner in their profession. Sarah is adamant that it wasn't coincidence, for she knows without a doubt that the Lord had arranged for her to be stationed where Mitch worked. She believes implicitly it was God's plan in bringing them together because they were meant for each other. There were no doubts about their relationship right from the start, and no doubts nine months later when Mitch asked her to marry him in February, 2011. And the tongue-in-cheek decoration on their wedding cake was a potent reminder of God's ultimate plan for each of them.

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.

LOVE at the VERY, VERY FIRST SIGHT???

Can infants be attracted to each other? Umm, well...

Regina Merrick tells her story:

 

When I was about six months old I was taken to a  church picnic. A three-year-old boy there wanted to trade his brother for me, because I was cuter and more active than his brother.  But it was his OLDER brother, all of five-years-old, who snuck up to his mother’s ear and asked how old he would be when I was eighteen. He knew that eighteen was the magic number, since his mother was eighteen when SHE married!

I didn’t get the oldest brother, or the youngest, though I love them as much as if they were my own brothers. I got the middle brother. Funny thing, that. We grew up together, went to church together, went to the same schools with him being three years ahead of me, grade-wise.

After years of playing together after church, and my being considered his younger brother’s contemporary, we started to “notice” one another when I was a freshman, and he was a senior in high school. Our youth group put together a play, and of course both of us were in it. I couldn’t figure out WHY I seemed to stammer and giggle my way through my part every time we were on stage together.

We didn’t start dating until after school was out for the year. I kid him that he just didn’t want to be known for dating a freshman in high school, so he waited until I was officially a sophomore.

So that’s the story of how we met. The rest, as they say, is history . . . .

About Regina:  Regina is Christian, wife, mother, musician, librarian, writer . . . still trying to connect the dots and constantly in wonder at how they all fit together.” A follower of Jesus since age 8, Regina has been a wife to the love of her life since age 19, a mother since age 25, and a college graduate since age 35.

Romance HMONG-style

Interesting customs of Hmong tribal youth,Northern Thailand.

One month ago we attended their 2554 New Year celebrations which differ from both Thai and Chinese New Year calendars. No matter where they work, near of far, many will make the yearly trek back to their villages. Both sexes enjoy decking themselves in all their hand-woven and hand-sewn tribal finery.Never mind that to a westerner, some of the womens' headgear resembles fancy lampshades!

Romance between boys and girls begins in their early teens around fourteen/fifteen years of age. And we witnessed a fascinating courtship ritual. Boys line up opposite the girls (also lined up,) and they begin by throwing a soft foam ball to each other. I'm unsure whether they change partners during this time until they find the person of their choice. No kissing or overt touching is allowed in public, so this actually gives them the opportunity to talk and laugh and flirt with each other under the watchful eyes of their elders.  It all looked so innocent, and we enjoyed watching them eye each other. They seemed to have a ball. Pun intended!

The unmarried often wear white garments, similar to virgins of the Karen tribes who wear long white dresses. We were told they marry very young and begin their families early, often becoming great grandparents before fifty years old. See what a little thing like throwing a ball can lead to?

TIME

I'm so glad I don't have someone with a stopwatch standing over me every hour of the day! Imagine having to be clocked over every single task. Imagine discovering how much time you actually wasted. Yes, in a sense, we do need to be caretakers over our time.

In this shortened version, the Book of Ecclesiastes says it so well: "There is a time for everything...a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to embrace and a time to refrain, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace."

What time do you find yourself in now? I believe I'm in the throw away time. It's amazing how much stuff you can accumulate. Mind you, there are times when you get rid of things then wish you hadn't. Still, it's far better to "clear the decks" once in a while. And that's not time wasted.

As far as my life is concerned, I often ask myself  'am I using it wisely?' I've only got one life with its fleeting span while here on earth. And am I fulfilling what the lord has planned for me? Have I cared enough, loved enough, helped enough, prayed enough? No. I know I haven't, but my desire is to please the Lord and so I ask Him daily to help me use my time wisely and to guide me in all of life's decisions.

Why not ask yourself how well you're using the time you have?

Romance or an Economic Transaction

When I was a very young woman, a family member once said to me,"Oh, you're just in love with love." And this, "You have a head full of romance. Come down from the clouds."

I didn't listen because some of these women in our family were not happily married. And I knew I didn't want to be forever quarelling with the man I'd someday marry. The whole idea of being courted and treated as someone extra special appealed so much. I wanted to be loved and cherished for myself. And if that's what romance really meant, then I believed in it and yearned for it to be true in my own experience. Why shouldn't a young woman have these hopes? I didn't want to be taken for granted, nor would I treat my true love that way.

In an upcoming book set in the late 19th century, I've given my young femle lead the same ideals. Ah, but the Victorian idea of marriage for the well-to-do young woman was an entirely different matter. Here's a snippet of an argument between Kate and her ambitious grandmother...

"Oh, Grandmama, you don't know him at all. He's a man of patience and integrity."

"Of course he's patient Wouldn't you be if a great amount of wealth was to be your reward?  I'm sorry child, but he will never do. And the only way to prove his avarice is for you to inform him I've struck your name from that of sole beneficiary of my will. Then we'll see how much he loves you."

She bristled. "Neither of us care about your money, Grandmama. Some people do marry for love."

"Love!" The word spat out. "How little you understand, child. Marriage is an economic transaction. A means of gaining power. A safeguard for one's heirs. A clever woman can only gain contentment if she is willing to set aside such foolish, romantic notions. Believe me, with money, love is of no real import." Her elder's face twisted. "However, love without money is a disastrous state of affairs!"

This scathing speech sliced apart any regard for her blood kin. And it hurt. How sad this reliance on money could so cruelly separate.

Now I can speak about this subject with some authority. Only because my husband and I have lived out these ideals during many years of happy marriage. Of course we've had our differences, but forgiveness always follows arguments and romance has been nourished. And in all this we thank the Lord for guiding us daily as we read His precious Word.

Inspirational Romance

That says it all. I love the inspirational romance genre where the love of a man is honest, lasting and self sacrificial. It is not obsessive or possessive. It is not infatuation, nor lust, but heroic. In other words true romance.

Sometimes, as they say, the course of true love never runs smoothly. This must happen in novels. If the hero and heroine met, fell in love at first sight, then married...end of story.

Oh no, we want them to experience some drastic situations before they can overcome them. We want some conflict. Maybe even with each other. We want to see growing attraction. We want to feel some passion, not overt, but controlled. We want to see some deepening of character as they face adversity. We want to see them struggle in their faith as they try to live it out, no matter the situation. We want to empathize when they make mistakes...big ones. In other words, we want them to be real, like us, not goody-goodies who float through life. Yes, we want our every emotion to be stirred and uplifted in our spirits.