You May See A Stranger

It was a busy day at work....that's great, though...I would much rather be busy than bored.  The mid-day chime was "One Enchanted Evening".  I was singing it quietly on the way back from getting the mail and I rounded a corner and a man walking toward me was singing it too....so, we glanced at each other, laughed, and sang a little louder...."you may see a stranger....across a crowded room..."  A spontaneous duet with Ron Hultman from the Registrar's Office....funny :)

When I look across crowded rooms now, I don't see a "stranger"...I see Brad (of course, there is always the question of which is stranger :) Isn't it fun to make eye-contact across a crowded room with your spouse!?  They know your looks....so you really don't have to say words...they just "get" your faces...  I am thrilled that Bryan Adams' new album comes out tomorrow...so I was listening to one of his new songs "She Knows Me" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slZKHSKvQuY
A SWEET, FUN SONG  and thinking about how it applies to my marriage :)

I know a lot about Brad...we met in 1992 briefly when his PR team came to my church to perform....we took a trip with our college choir to Israel in 1994-95 during the Christmas and New Year's Holiday...(during the trip I made a note in my journal that I thought I could marry someone like him :)

Hey, thanks GOD...you read my mind....and my journal...you're sneaky wonderful! 

He had just graduated college and came back for the trip because he had helped plan it as a senior and he really wanted to go. I was a freshman that year and he was the older guy who helped me carry my luggage around Israel and saved me a seat on the bus.  We went on one date when we returned from the trip and then he decided he wanted to go back to Israel and work with the missionaries there (I made quite the impression, I guess...ha!  NO, he has a huge heart for Missions :), so we really did not talk much...if at all, for a couple years.  He worked in Israel for a year...I was busy with school, auditioned and made a PR team which kept me busy travelling almost every weekend and all through the summer months my junior and senior years.  He got a job leading worship at a church in town and working for Youth For Christ and when I graduated, I got a job in Wilmington, IL as a QMRP, Qualified Mental Retardation Professional (love that title :)  I attended the church where Brad led worship and we were great friends....that dated sometimes...I knew I loved him, but it took him a little longer to figure it all out. I actually decided to move home to Indy in 2001 to attend Butler University for my Master's degree, but Brad decided that would be when he would declare his undying love for me and came down to Indy to talk to my dad about marrying me.  We were friends for quite a few years before we finally married on 02/02/02...the most ROMANTIC way to spend Groundhog's Day, right?!....EVERY YEAR :).  We've been through a lot since then....job changes, moves, kids, adoption...life can be so busy and sometimes we test that marriage box to see how long it can run on empty.

I may know him well, but I will never be finished knowing, understanding, and loving him.  It is not his job to make me happy....sometimes I forget that.  It is my job to choose happiness for myself and to add things to the marriage box that he can open and enjoy.