“I hope he finds a wife, but it won’t be me.” Betty blurted the semi-oath. The older sisters at Grace Chapel were teasing her. A young man from Alabama was coming to the annual church meeting during the third week of July. They thought he might be the one for her.1
Betty made another vow—this one to herself. “If he comes, I will not speak to him. I will not be the object of anyone’s matchmaking!”
Pastor Zack usually gathered the ministers before the preaching service began. He wanted to discern which minister had a preaching “burden” from the Lord. But on the Friday morning of the meeting, he announced a departure from his usual practice. The Holy Spirit had given him a message.
Betty sat in a pew about a third of the way down the left side. As she surveyed the congregation, she spotted a young man seated about six benches in front of her. That must be the Alabama guy they’ve teased me about, she thought. Defiance sprang up inside her. She renewed her resolution to ignore the guy, even if he strummed the proverbial banjo during the break between services.
After a half-hour of hearty singing, Zack assumed his place behind the pulpit. He announced his text would be Romans 16:13: “Salute Rufus chosen in the Lord.” He then preached a message on Christian hospitality. “The saints should greet visitors to their church meetings.” That was his crucial point.
Betty’s resolve ebbed. Each part of the sermon amplified the pastor’s central thesis. His message opposed her public and secret vows of silence. She knew which must win.
If it must be so, I will introduce myself and welcome him to our church, she decided. Nothing more. The brief greeting did not go as she planned.
This Alabama guy is hard to shake, she thought. All I did was salute this doofus. Now I can’t get rid of him. Every time I turn around, he’s standing there wanting to talk. He didn’t break out a banjo, but he is pouring out a lot of questions. What does he mean? “Do you think you are a prophetess?”
These persistent conversations continued through the weekend. Several times, Betty noticed people gazing at them. Once, a minister walked by and gave them an exaggerated wink. What did he mean by that? There’s nothing more to these conversations than a simple greeting.
Who knows what Zack and his wife, Judy, had in mind? The Alabama guy was supposed to fly home on Sunday afternoon, but they asked him to stay at their house that night. They planned to visit Judy’s sister, Debbie, in Alabama the following week. He could ride with them Monday morning and enjoy a few more hours of fellowship. He accepted the invitation.
Earlier, Zack and Judy had asked Betty to travel with them, too. They knew Debbie was her best friend and that they had spent little time together in recent years. Debbie’s husband, Jimmy, had served as pastor of a church in Idaho. He was now serving a small church in central Alabama.
Judy insisted Betty spend the night at their house on Sunday night. “We need to start the trip early Monday morning.”
Betty knew things might get out of control when she learned the Alabama guy would be lodging there, too.
The pleasant conversation made things less awkward for a while that Sunday evening. But then Zack went on a long walk. And Judy had to get the kids to bed.
Betty was now alone with this guy in the living room of an expansive house. A simple greeting had morphed into a one-on-one discussion on a steamy Memphis summer evening. He suggested they take a walk down Graham Avenue. “Are you seeing anyone?” Oh, my! This guy is fast, she thought.
The trip to Alabama was not as awkward as Betty had imagined. Later that week, some of the Alabama sisters hinted that a romance might be in the air. Are all older ladies alike? She felt less resistance than before.
Debbie and Jimmy invited Betty and the Alabama guy to a picnic in Horseshoe Bend the following Saturday. The guy brought his copy of Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening Devotions. As they discussed its edifying contents, Debbie suggested Betty read the devotion for that morning. She opened the book to the meditation for July 22. Her heart raced as she read the title: “I am married unto you” — Jeremiah 3:14. Nobody gasped, but everyone knew. Things were looking up for Doofus.
It happened the next day. The Alabama guy asked the Memphis belle to marry him. She accepted.
It was meant to be.
Footnotes
- I wrote this post for a Word Weavers International contest. My purpose here is to glorify God and thank Him for his marvelous providence.
