This Wondrous Love - Chapter Three

A Story of God's Love and Grace - 

"Yes!"

(The last paragraph from Chapter Two...   Then, out of the blue, Tim stood up.  He pulled a small, blue, velvet box from his pocket.  One of his knees dropped to the floor.  He looked up at me.  He smiled - and then I caught my breath as he asked me the question almost every girl dreams about being asked...)

"I love you, Kath, will you marry me?"

...I threw my arms around Tim's neck, "Yes!"

Tim took me out to a really nice dinner after that but before we went into the restaurant he said, "I need to make a phone call."  This was before cell phones, way before, so we found a pay phone and Tim dialed my home number.  My mom answered the phone and Tim asked for her permission and blessing to marry me.  My mother queried him with these three questions...

"Do you love her?"

"Yes."

"Do you love the Lord?"

"Yes."

"Will you love me?"

"Yes!"

She really did ask those questions, in that order.  Tim really did answer, in that way, and his answers were all true, then, as they are now.

We had my mom's blessing.

It was Ground Hog's Day, February 2, 1980.  (It is just as romantic to get engaged on Ground Hog's Day as it is on Valentine's Day.)  Before I flew home to finish out the school year, we set the date for July 5th.  There were a little less than four more months of school left.  Four more torturous months.  Five months to plan a wedding.  I was still actually going to a couple of my classes.  One was a calligraphy class.  I never turned in my final project and was flabbergasted to learn I'd received a "C" in the class - it was totally undeserved.

I did not graduate.  I had attended Biola on a four year scholarship, based on my mom's income and a fairly decent high school GPA.  Biola required a year of Bible.  So technically, it takes five years to get through Biola, if you don't take interterm classes, summer classes, or heavy loads.  I was ready to be done with school, ready to be done with the pressure of homework, of lab-work,  and term papers.  I had no desire to have a career.  I wanted to be married, set up a home, and raise a family.  It's all I had ever really wanted.  Oh, there was a time when I thought it would be fun to be a park ranger.  My family grew up camping and I loved the outdoors.  And then I thought I wanted to be a nurse.  From a nurse it went to a PE Teacher.  From a PE Teacher it went to a Christian Camp Director.  They actually offered a degree in it at Biola.  The last classes I took were Education classes.  I'd finally settled on teaching, but the scholarship money was ending, and my enthusiasm for school was long gone.

Yes, I wanted to be married and I thought I understood what it meant to be a godly wife.  I would soon learn however, just how self-centered I was.

Here's where the story of God's love and grace unfolds...