I
was always very careful when it came to dating.
Every date represented a potential marriage partner. After I came to Christ in 1970, I decided
what kind of girl I wanted to marry.
While praying one day, I gave the Lord four prerequisites regarding my
future wife. You may laugh, but God knew
I was serious.
First
and foremost, she had to love the Lord with all her heart. Then I requested a blonde, blue-eyed girl,
who played the piano. After all, if I
was going to be a pastor, I needed a piano player!
I
met Lori Owens in January, 1976, when we both served on the Evangel University
newspaper and yearbook staffs, respectively.
Lori was a quiet, yet fun-loving girl, who did not catch my eye at first. She told her roommate that I was too stuffy.
I
was a sophomore; she was a freshman.
During that semester, we worked together on the newspaper and yearbook staffs. In fact, I was her "boss." As time passed, we developed a close
friendship. I found her to be a lot of
fun and deeply spiritual. She saw me as
focused and serious-minded. Toward the
end of that semester, I decided it was time for a “real” date. Lori’s story is that she painted my office in
exchange for an evening together. What
she didn’t know was that I was afraid of her declining my invitation, so I used
the “bartering method” to avoid rejection!
Because
I was short on cash, I took her to a free movie at the college. We watched Gone with the Wind, while sitting on straight-back chairs in the
school’s musty old fine arts auditorium.
Afterwards, we went to dinner at one of Springfield’s (MO) finer
restaurants. We both ordered spaghetti
and meatballs. I was nervous; she was
clumsy! A meatball fell off her fork,
rolled across the table and landed in my lap.
And of course, I was wearing white pants! Lori loves telling the part when I dropped
her off at the dorm and ended the evening in prayer. “He didn’t even kiss me,” she says.
When
the semester was over, we both remained on campus for summer school. By that time we were inseparable; and admittedly,
I was slow in the romance department.
One evening in early June, I sat in my room feeling desperately
lonely. Suddenly it hit me: God was preparing me for the most important
decision of my life after salvation—the selection of my life’s mate. I realized the answer to my loneliness lived
across campus!
For
the first time in my life, I was in love.
I was smitten! A blonde-haired,
blue-eyed girl, who played the piano was living in Scott Hall. I then paged her over the intercom, and our
love affair began to blossom at Sambo's, a restaurant across the street from the
college.
On
August 6, 1977, Lori Owens became my bride.
Her dad, the Rev. Dale Owens, united us in a church that was demolished
on the Monday after we were married! (This allowed room for a new sanctuary to be built--not because the roof caved in!) Three steel pillars positioned in the middle of the church literally
held up that antiquated concrete structure.
It was a hot, and I mean hot Alabama day, and the church’s one window air
conditioner malfunctioned.
Now,
after 40 years, four children, six grandkids and five pastorates later, we give
God praise for His faithfulness. Lori is
the most gifted person I know. In fact,
she can be downright intimidating! God brought us together not to compete, but
to complete one another. She is not
only my wife, but she’s my best friend and co-pastor. She’s wonderfully articulate, a gifted
writer, missionary, mother, grandmother, teacher, musician, mentor, and friend to
many.
We
honor the gifts inside each other and count it a privilege to serve the Lord
and our wonderful "family" at Hope Community Church.
(Side note to my bride: Happy 40th Anniversary on August 6th. Looking back is fun. Looking forward is even better!)
