Thirty years

June 13, 1981 The first day of the rest of my life

Sounds like such a long time and yet it went by so fast. I have spent the last thirty years being married. As a matter of fact at 6:22pm tonight it will be thirty years since I said my vows.

To be perfectly honest if I had been older, (I was barely eighteen) or more intelligent, (how smart is your 18 year old?) I might have waited or not married at all. BUT...God had a plan.  (Jeremiah 29:11)
I wasn't wise enough to know the plan, I wasn't old enough to understand, but I had faith.

God sent me Ray. I remember telling Penny, my across the street, best friend of my childhood that I was going to marry Ray not many hours after meeting him. She laughed at me and I told her I was serious.
Her response was "He's too good for you, he won't look twice at you."
So much for loyalty!
But she was right. I was basically self raised after the age of twelve. That is another story for another day. Suffice it to say I didn't raise myself very well. I had baggage!

I met Ray's mother just a few months later. She was my room mother at church camp (Not by plan). I had never been to church camp. I was 17 years old and had only been going to church for a few months. I instantly loved her! She was kind and encouraging and loved Jesus more than anything in the world.  She listened to me and cried with me and loved on me.

Ray had a few rough edges (that is like the pot calling the kettle black!) but he was such a gentleman to me. I had never known a guy to be interested in what I thought. He asked me questions and was really interested in what I had to say. I told him everything.  He told me about his life and his work and his dreams. Most nights our dates consisted of sitting in my living room or on the porch, or in his truck in the driveway just talking.

Our first date was going to the pizza joint after church.  One of the other guys from church needed a ride so Ray said he would take him.  Tim climbed in the truck and sat in the middle...LOL! Ray and I still laugh about that when we think of it. If it had been anyone else besides Tim, Ray would have made him get out and switch places with me, but Tim was loved by everyone so he stayed in the middle since it was just about a two mile drive. On the way home, Ray took Tim to the side and told him he would take him home, but he needed to sit on the passenger side.

Our second date he said jokingly "let's get married" I said, "OK!" Little did either of us know we were both serious. From that evening on we have never gone a day without talking. We have been separated by jobs and illness and such, but we always talked.

There is so much more to my 30+ years with Ray.  When he calls on the phone I am still excited to hear his voice. When he comes home in the evening I am still happy to see him.

The way we are now

Speaking of...Ray is coming home early, I need to go get dressed!

Later,
Diane