I met Carol on “get acquainted day” at college in August of 1996. We were next to each other in the batting order of a group soft-ball game. She was interested right away. I thought she was a nice person, but I didn’t really have any romantic inclinations then. I was in a serious automobile accident that evening and ended up getting a bunch of stitches in my face and missing a day or two of school, the notoriety of that accident in our small school attracted her attention even more. A few days later, as I walked into the school building, she was sitting on a chair at the top of a flight of stairs. She – as reticent as she often is – took opportunity to introduce herself with a little more detail than we had at the ball game a couple of days earlier. She asked me how old I was and I responded, “twenty.” She quickly replied, “I’m twenty too!” But she immediately realized that it sounded like she was “twenty-two” and begin backtracking with “I mean, I mean, I’m twenty also!” She was concerned that I would think she was too old for a relationship with me. Her verbal stumble was obvious, yet sweet and endearing at the same time.
Nothing else happened between us for more than another semester, other than a polite friendship. I did notice several things about her, but wasn’t really interested at the time.
However, the following Spring, Providence began to pair us. We were travelling in the school vocal ensemble together and I found that on occasion I would end up sitting by her during some of our services. She is a prolific note-taker and would often ask to borrow my pen (which I guard diligently to this day). The more I sat next to her, the more interested I became, though we didn’t talk much. I discovered that I just liked being near her. Her presence brought an emotional and peaceful satisfaction to me.
The Bible that is in the picture above is the one that she used during college. When we arrived at a church, we would usually all go into the auditorium and put our Bibles and music down on the first couple of rows and then go to the restrooms to freshen up, or perhaps eat a meal in the fellowship hall. I realized that I was beginning to look for her Bible whenever we would go into an auditorium – hoping there was an empty seat next to where she had put down her things – and then I would place my Bible down next to hers to save a place so that I could sit next to her. Bold and not very subtle, huh?
The habit continued – whenever I got an opportunity to be around her, I would take it. Sometimes in chapel, sometimes in the cafeteria, sometimes in class, and of course the clue to her imminent presence was the location of her Bible. So, in both a practical and a spiritual sense, one of the things that drew me to her, was her Bible.
She pulled this Bible off of a shelf a few weeks ago for some reason and left it laying on a table in her classroom. I saw it and asked if she minded if I took it to my office – she agreed. I’ve looked at it often over the last several weeks and smiled as I’ve been reminded of the early days of our relationship. I’ve been waiting for an opportunity to write of those memories – today, her 42 birthday is a good day to write. By the way, she is older than I am, but only by six months – not two years. I love you, Carol, Happy Birthday!
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