He who finds
a wife finds a good thing And
obtains favor from the Lord.
It was very
early fall and late summer, but in south Georgia who can tell the difference in
the season. This had been a day I looked
forward to for a long time even though we were young. Just a couple years before I began asking God
to give me one of the things my heart seemed to desire the most. That was a wife.
The day was Saturday,
September 4th, and it was 23 years ago this weekend that I had the privilege
and honor to marry Julie Howell. We were
both 22 years old in 1993. Seems like it
was forever ago (or five-ever our children would say).
23 years
ago. 3 children ago. 6 dogs ago.
9 houses ago. 3 states ago. 16 cars ago.
Lots of money ago. Many, many
memories ago. And the list can go on and
on because we have been very, very blessed!
Happy
anniversary to my Julie who continues to be my best friend and partner in just
about everything that goes on our lives.
We have battled stuff. We have
celebrated so many times. We have cried
(a lot) through the years. We have
laughed, sighed, groaned, grumbled, rolled our eyes and do all that stuff that
people who share life do. Every single
one … worth it!
When I was
young, I knew that I wanted to be a preacher.
Not many girls want to be preacher’s wives. There isn’t much money in it, and you might
have to move some. You may even have to
move a long way away from your family. I
began to pray God would give me just the right girl.
I picked out a
couple along the way (in the early years) that I thought would be the perfect
preacher wife, but I was wrong.
Thankfully I didn’t invest much or get far in those relationships. But very early in 1991 I began to long to
share my life with someone, and I asked God more and more to fill that
spot. Honestly, those were often lonely
days when I lived 5 hours away from my family and then 19 hours away from them.
Around the
close of 1992 I became the pastor of Bear Creek Baptist Church in Mt. Vernon,
Georgia which is near the college I attended as a preacher boy. My first Sunday at the church I was invited
to the home of two of the church members, the Needham family. It was that day at lunch that I met my future
wife.
She was dating
their grandson. No, I didn’t look at her
and say she, Julie, was going to be my wife.
In fact I didn’t have much thought at all with everything else going on. It was about 5 weeks later that this girl had
broken up with their grandson. This
grandma, affectionately known as gran gran, began to encourage me or beg me to
call this sweet little girl. That
continued for several weeks.
I was ordained
to the ministry by home church just after Christmas of 1992, and I returned
home after January 1st to go to school and serve that little church. Gran Gran’s insistence to call this sweet
little girl and ask her out. I did.
That first
week I saw her Monday night (really just trying to remember what she looked
like; might have been stalking her). We
had dinner Tuesday night and again Thursday at a place right near our college
campus. Friday she had wisdom teeth
taken out, and I went to her home with some flowers and a couple rented movies
(that’s a story for another day).
What began as
a phone call to make someone stop pestering me ended up in a lot more. 6 weeks later we were engaged (the story of
those several weeks is also a story or several stories for later). We were married at First Assembly of God
Church in Vidalia, Georgia on Saturday, September 4th of 1993, and as the old
saying goes, the rest is history.
I am blessed,
more than she is or has been. Julie is
the answer to my prayers of my late teen years and early twenties. She is still the answer to my prayers. God over did this one in a good way once
again proving that God is good!
So, happy
anniversary, Julie Howell Harrison. What
a great life we have together. 23 years
is only the start, and we have lots of new things ahead (as we have experienced
as of late). I am so proud to be your
husband and fall short so often. I pray
for you daily and praise God for you to.
My
commitment? To pray for my wife daily
and be what I can as her life helper and partner. We really are blessed, and it means a lot
more than just 23 years of memories.
More to come!
Let your
fountain be blessed, And rejoice
in the wife of your youth.
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