Category Archives: Marriage

Young Love (#51)

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happy-togetherAfter a perfect proposal in a Kansas Holiday Inn room, Nate and I enjoyed 3 glorious days together dreaming of our bright future. But on July 6th, we said emotional goodbyes and went back to living 575 miles apart. It wasn’t easy, but Nate had only 3 more weeks of Army camp before graduation. After that we would be together every day. At least that was the plan.

The next hurdle was telling my parents we’d gotten engaged.

July 6, 1969 – To my friend, future husband, and future lover. Saying goodbye to you about an hour ago was just a temporary halt to our pleasure in being together. The last 3 days have been so meaningful that all I’m feeling is gratitude to the Lord for abundant grace in His dealing with both of us, seeing to it that every detail is being provided for as we make progress together. The thought of being your wife brings me great pleasure! I love you! (Smack-a-roo!)

July 6, 1969 – Dearest Meg. I love you! I feel so secure in your love and in my faith in Jesus Christ. This week, Tuesday through Saturday, I’ll be out on bivouac again. But I know these next weeks will sail by! And I hope you will be able to come to Ft. Riley for my graduation from this ROTC camp – July 25.

July 6, 1969 – Dear Nate. I’m going to pray for you often as you go on bivouac, and there will be lots of letters and wedding details sent your way while you’re in the field. When things get hard, just think about our wedding. You are unlike any man I’ve ever met. You’re more understanding of me than anyone else, including my own parents. I’m going to do my best to understand you the same wonderful way.

July 6, 1969 – Dearest Meg. What do you think about “1 Corinthians 13” being engraved inside our wedding rings? When I got back to the fort I read through it again, all about love. That kind of love is what I have for you and what Christ has for us and for all humanity.

July 6, 1969 – Dear Nate. I’m about to get on the train headed away from Topeka toward Chicago. I’ll be staring at my ring the whole way! It’s so beautiful! I’m very glad we called your folks tonight before we parted. I hope they are pleased that we thought of them and decided to call. I should say YOU thought of them. You always know the right and best thing to do. As for my parents, don’t worry. It’s best to show them as well as tell them. I’m sure, now that you gave me a ring, things will run on a smooth course. Besides, the Lord is on our side.

July 7, 1969 – Dearest Meg. I’m remembering your love of music and the sound of your singing, and both thrill me – beautiful and sexy. I love you! And I’m so glad to be formally engaged to you. Ecstatically happy! Every night I pray for us. Sometimes I ask myself, how can one woman be so beautiful?

momJuly 7, 1969 – Dear Nate. I did it! I went home and made our announcement to Mom, Dad, Aunt Agnes, Mary, Bervin, and Tommy. I was a little nervous about Dad and didn’t want to shock him. But my main concern was Mom. I showed Dad first, and I could see on his face he was going to be ok. He looked closely at my ring and said, “Your Ma didn’t do as well in the diamond department. I paid $145 for her engagement ring. Nate is a very generous person!” Of course Mom’s ring was bought in 1940! As for Mom, when I showed her, she threw her arms around me and congratulated me. I was so glad! At last their feelings are catching up to ours. Yippee!

engaged1“A longing fulfilled is sweet to the soul.” (Proverbs 13:19)

Young Love (#50)

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God seemed to be orchestrating everything perfectly as Nate moved through a multi-step proposal to me, very early on the morning of July 4th, 1969 –about 4:00 AM.

The words below were taken from a post-proposal write-up I made after getting back to Chicago on July 6. (When I wrote it, I didn’t dream anyone but me would ever read it, so it’s far from a polished piece of writing.)

After ending yesterday’s blog with Nate’s gently whispered question, “Will you marry me?” we’ll pick up the story with my very loud response:

“Ohhhh yessss!”

engagedThen, with kisses and a request for me to close my eyes, Nate brought the ring out of his pocket and slipped it on my finger. My heart was beating double-time! When he hugged me, I threw my arms around him tightly so the ring would land right in front of my eyes when I opened them… and there it was, the most brilliant, dazzling diamond ever to be on a girl’s finger.

Words couldn’t come fast enough for me then as I exclaimed of its beauty, its sparkle, its perfection beyond my every expectation. And most of all, words of its meaning in my now being really and truly committed to Nate!

“But wait,” he said. “There’s more.”

maraschino-cherriesFirst and most important, we bowed together before the Lord in prayer, thanking Him, dedicating ourselves. Then Nate disap- peared into the motel room bathroom and returned with a bottle of Portuguese champagne packed in the Holiday Inn ice bucket along with two Holiday Inn plastic glasses, a “love bug” corkscrew bought especially for the occasion, two oranges for us to feed each other, and a glass of Maraschino cherries soaking in tiny ice cubes, ready to pop into our mouths.

We toasted our engagement and our future, punctuating everything with smiles and warm laughter. I felt so much love for him. But he wasn’t through even yet. He left for the bathroom again, this time snapping off even the one light he’d left burning. Returning slowly, he reappeared with a big 4th of July cake topped with multiple lit candles flickering in the dark room. The candles were arranged in a circle with a cross stuck into the frosting in the center. “… to represent eternal love,” he said, “governed by Christ.”

Together we blew out the candles, a little late since the top layer of frosting was covered with tallow, but that didn’t stop us from enjoying this sweet treat. “Every engagement party has to have a cake!” he said. We cut it into pieces with the end of my rat-tail comb for lack of anything better.

excitedEven in all the frivolity, which got stronger and stronger, it was neat to realize our decision had been officially made to marry – the first official step toward which was completed at 4:45 AM in Topeka, Kansas, on the 4th of July, 1969.

There was a lot of kissing and hugging, after which Nate went back into the bathroom, emerging with a big beach ball! What’s a proposal without a rousing game of dive-and-catch? And lastly, he gave me a small American flag on a stick to represent his involvement in the military on this special day, a blend of romance and patriotism.

As our celebration was ending, the sun was rising, full of beauty and July 4th enthusiasm, but not nearly as dazzling as my gleaming diamond ring. I told Nate I loved him more and more and more, and promised my gift of a lifetime of love, support, devotion, and loyalty.

“You are altogether beautiful, my darling, beautiful in every way.” (Song of Songs 4:9)

Young Love (#49)

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Nate’s and my excitement mounted as the days ticked off toward our engagement weekend. I was all set to take an early morning train from Chicago to Topeka on July 3rd, but there was one big problem. The ring still hadn’t arrived to my apartment mailbox. Since there was no way to phone Nate and it was too late for a letter to reach him, I had only one choice: a telegram. So on the morning of Thursday, July 3rd, I sent word to Ft. Riley:

“NO RING YET. WILL WAIT FOR THURSDAY MAIL AND COME ON LATEST TRAIN. LOVE MEG”

telegram

When the mailman came walking down our city sidewalk that day, I was waiting for him. “Do you have a package for me?” And sure enough, he did. My heart had butterflies as I raced into the apartment to show my roommate. The two of us held hands and jumped up and down like a couple of kindergarteners, rejoicing over a small unopened brown box we knew had treasure hidden inside.

dearborn-st-stationI tucked the package into the center of my suitcase and headed downtown by “L” train, to the Dearborn Street Station. Though the late train rolled into Topeka after 2:00 AM, Nate was there waiting for me. And just like the song said, “His arms opened wide and closed me inside.” I was in heaven.

[ The following account is taken from a retrospective I wrote after arriving home on July 6. Please forgive the sentimentality! ]

When we arrived at the motel, room 136, Nate kindly asked me to relax on the sofa while he excused himself for a moment. I propped my head up with two fresh pillows he’d given me, and my imagination ran wild with thoughts of what beautiful, creative things that fantastic man might do.

Shortly he returned with one hand behind his back, a glow on his cheeks, and the grin of all grins on his face. He was curbing his excitement, it was obvious, and by this time I was very much doing the same thing. As he walked toward me, he clicked off several lights, leaving only one low bulb burning, that being the lamp just above my head.

He pulled a chair up to my side and brought the Gideon Bible from behind his back, a pale blue cover with deep blue around the edges. It was open to “Song of Solomon” from which he began reading: “Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair.”

I watched his eyes move across the lines, catching their sparkle when, every so often, on a meaningful phrase, he would raise his gaze to meet mine, communicating an added sacredness to the occasion. How beautiful and right that the words of Scripture should precede all else.

retrospectiveI watched his lips as they read the words, from chapters 4 and 7: “I am my beloved’s, and his desire is toward me. Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the field; let us lodge in the villages.” The words were sincere, articulate, and wonderful in my ears as he read, leaning close, speaking softly, clearly, meaningfully. I loved him more than ever before and felt closer.

When he finished, he looked through my eyes and into my open heart, talking calmly and thoughtfully of the elements of an engagement bond, of a marriage commitment, of OUR bond and OUR commitment, of what the future would hold, of how he would treat his wife and children, of how our home and our individual lives would be based on the guidance and never-failing love of Christ, who brought us together and fanned our love-flame into a strong warm glowing fire.

After setting the Bible on the floor, he took me into his arms for a moment without saying a word… and then whispered, “Will you marry me?”

“The greatest… is love.” (1 Corinthians 13:13)