Happy Anniversary!
Congratulations to my parents, for on this day, they were married--26 years ago. And on this singular day, I would like to take the opportunity to share with you a little of my family story.
In the summer of 1976, my dad was 23 (whoa, that's how old I am). A seminary student, he had taken the position of summer youth minister at Great Neck Baptist Church in Virginia Beach, VA. It was there that he met my mom. She must have stood out in that small congregation, with her stylish way of dressing and her long, sleek, reddish hair. She was a new Christian, and had only been coming to the church for a few months. After their first date, they both had a sense that they had found something special. My mom knew that my dad was a world apart from any other guy she had ever met. My dad spent that night walking along the beach, pondering it all.
When his stint at Great Neck was over, my dad left to take up a pastorate in South Carolina. And he was miserable. He was so lonely apart from my mom, that after just a few weeks, he proposed to her over the phone. They were married that spring, on Easter--April 10, 1977--in the little church where they met.
Epilogue:
I found out later that it was my dad who performed my mom's baptism there. He baptized me there, also. In 1987, when I was 7 years old, we were stationed in Virginia Beach with the Navy. We attended Great Neck Baptist Church (which was across the street from my elementary school), and it was there that I accepted Christ.