Young Love (#60)

Posted on January 5, 2017 by Margaret

My mind was racing a mile a minute as I opened the apartment door and saw my old boyfriend standing there with another guy. I had worked hard to get him out of my mind in previous weeks, but even with effort, there was still a shred of a bond between us. My hands began to shake, and I so wished Nate was standing beside me. But my partner was far away, and I had to deal with this alone.

Emotions are a tricky thing. Attachments from the past can be reawakened by a song, a scent, a picture. And the picture I saw standing in front of me was wreaking havoc in my mind. The only thing to do was leave the room until I could get some measure of control.

I excused myself to the bathroom where I cried out to a God I knew would hear me and rescue me. I asked for a calm, logical spirit to be able to cope with my spinning thoughts and the two young men standing in my living room.

Now… to continue quoting from my letter of explanation to Nate, who was hundreds of miles away:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

God heard my prayer and calmed me down considerably, enough to go back to converse with them. I asked what they were doing downtown, and it was less than a minute when they suddenly noticed my engagement ring. He [old boyfriend] said, “Hey! Wait a minute! What’s this?” And grabbed my hand. I was so proud to tell them of our engagement, about when it happened, and when our wedding would be. I was bursting with joy over you, in my words to them. He just couldn’t believe we were engaged. They invited me to go out with them (saying we would celebrate the engagement), and though we did leave the apartment briefly, we were back in minutes. He was quite sullen and quiet after he’d seen our ring and quickly became anxious to leave. I was relieved to see them go, so that I could get with the Lord in prayer and go back to 1 John. God confirmed for me immediately the rightness of our marriage and my ever-growing love for you, my future husband. I love you so much! YOUR Meg.

July 15, 1969 – Dearest Meg. Would you be up for coming down here on Sunday just for the day (20 July), if I can confirm it in a phone call? I really want to be with you. I miss you. I will try to call you Saturday, 19 July, in the early evening. You were very honest with me about your boyfriend’s visit, how long it lasted, and that he saw your ring and now realizes the completeness of the engagement. I love your honesty and your beautiful soul (praying in the bathroom) so much that I could cry. I am confident he has high enough regard for our decision to respect it by leaving us alone now. If the devil was testing you, you passed with Christ’s blessing! Excellent! I’m proud of you!

July 16, 1969 – Dear Nate. You are amazing, the way you love me no matter what. I’ve never known someone who loves like that… except, of course, the Lord. I am longing to have you with me. I need you! I’m glad we decided to get married earlier rather than later. The distance between us isn’t helping anything.

July 16, 1969 – Dearest Meg. I am very secure in your love and loyalty. I’m glad we made the decision to have each other only, and no others in any capacity on the side – that we realized lateral relationships can destroy a marriage. You’re a fabulous Christian woman. I love you! I love you, no matter what.

“So will I ever sing praises to Your name, as I perform my vows day after day.” (Psalm 61:8)

Young Love (#59)

Posted on January 4, 2017 by Margaret

Wedding planning (in Chicago) was moving forward on schedule, and Nate (in Kansas) was focusing on his last two weeks of Army camp. I hadn’t seen, heard from, or even thought about my old boyfriend for a long time and considered that chapter completely closed.

But I should have known better.

July 15, 1969 – Dearest Meg. Would you like to know what I’ll be doing next week? Monday, barracks clean-up. Tuesday, bivouac set-up. Wednesday, platoon tactics. Thursday, company tactics. Friday and Saturday, tanks. The following week, which will be our last, we’ll take written tests and physical training tests and hand in our gear. THEN it will be 25 July, and I will see Meg, and she’ll see me in a parade of cadets. Just a few short days till then! Oh how I miss you!

July 15, 1969 – Dear Nate. Today was frustrating. I spent many hours at Bervin’s warehouse while he worked on my car, and then we both got caught in a terrific rainstorm. Both cars got drenched and our clothes, too. As a result, Bervin and Mary were real late to an outing with their church group. And my car wasn’t finished. Now it sounds like a tank and is running on only 7 cylinders. Bervin feels bad, but I’m thankful he’s willing to work on it at all! He’s very patient. His cousin was at the warehouse, too, and said that if I let Bervin work on more and more parts of the Corvette, it will eventually be in great shape.

July 14, 1969 – Dearest Meg, my Love. You sound very organized on the wedding dress and other planning. I’ll help you with all the decisions when I get there. I am praying about all this, and I pray for us many times each day. By the way, when do you want to have the first of our four babies?

July 13, 1969 – Dear Nate. I have something to write in this letter that will be hard for you to read, but you and I have agreed to be completely honest with each other. It concerns my old boyfriend. I can honestly say his name has not popped into my head since we last talked about him many days ago. Not once – until yesterday. All day yesterday I had a strange feeling he was going to call. I prayed many times during the day, asking God to get thoughts of him out of my head. I was nervous each time the phone rang. At 11:00 PM he hadn’t called, and I began to relax about it. I was writing a letter to my Aunt Joyce when there was a knock on our apartment door. And Nate, I just knew it was him. I believe the devil was testing me, trying to derail our plans to start a solid Christian marriage. I believe he was trying to spoil what we have. I opened the door, and it was him, standing next to one of his friends. I was so nervous that my hands began to shake. Quickly I excused myself and ran to the bathroom. Feeling completely upset, I prayed.

(To be continued…)

“Let marriage be held in honor among all.” (Hebrews 13:4)

Young Love (#57)

Posted on January 1, 2017 by Margaret

My life in Chicago was easy compared to what Nate was experiencing in the Army. He was suffering through some hard days (and nights) of living in the field, stripped of every comfort. He was exhausted, dirty, hungry, and longing for his fiancée. Meanwhile, I was happily shopping for a wedding gown and helping my parents sort through mountains of creature comforts they no longer needed. It was the story of two extremes.

July 12, 1969 – Dearest Meg. Thanks for the sweetest card I’ve ever seen! That picture of Meg with a trace of a shiner is so cute! I could hug, kiss, and squeeze you for a week! Down here I am really tired. We’ve been up every morning between 4:00 and 5:00 and been kept busy till midnight or 1:00 AM every night. Today we ran a reconnaissance patrol – 27 men, 27 rifles and a radio, etc. We walked about 15 miles in the heat, and my underwear and clothes were soaked! I’ve had to wear the same clothes for 5 days. No showers. This is rough, but it makes a person appreciate civilian life. Every man owes this to the U.S. When I think of what some men have sacrificed, my little suffering is microscopic.

July 12, 1969 – Dear Nate. My life is so different here than yours at Ft. Riley. I’ve been helping Mom and Dad sort through a lifetime of belongings. You’re operating with nothing, and they have too much. But… there’s an up-side. Since they have to get rid of so much, let’s think seriously about taking some of it. Dad’s father made some really nice glass-front book cases back in the late 1800’s. (Remember, Dad was born in 1899!) Those might be nice for all your law books.

July 12, 1969 – Dearest Meg. Thank you for your last fabulous letter! I could hug and kiss you forever! My love grows daily, and I am so excited about our engagement. You are the most fabulous woman in the world! I love you! And I also say, just wait until November 29! Love and kisses! I think of you every minute – every minute!!! I think about things you’ve said and done and your and my prayers, and your body. I realize again how magnificent you are and how fortunate I am. I’ll love you forever!

July 13, 1969 – Dear Nate, my Loved One. I just returned from shopping for a wedding gown! But before I tell you about it, I want to thank you for all your letters filled with so many words of love. I appreciate every penned word. And I love you very much! Getting ready for our wedding is the most fun I’ve ever had, for lots of reasons. Nov. 29 can’t come fast enough for me! Today I tried on all kinds of gowns and about drooled over their beauty. I’m not ready to decide, because I want to look some more, and of course I have to run the prices past Dad. But I did decide a few things. I want an off-white dress made of heavy satin. It’s a very rich-looking fabric. I don’t mean in money but in thickness and quality, you know, sort of like a “rich” pastry. I’ve also decided on a high collar with lace of some kind. I hope to get a long train that will drag 3-4 feet behind the dress, and a floor-length veil. I’m going to pitch in for the extra costs of some of this. Dad will probably say I can’t, but I’m going to try. And I don’t want a veil over my face, because when I walk down the aisle, I don’t want anything obstructing my view!