A Very Special Day

Today, my wife Marilyn and I celebrate 29 years of marriage. We have shared life's highs & lows, twists & turns and joys & sorrows- and we have survived with love. This is another milestone for us along life's highway, and it is a road that I am honored to travel with her. Today is a special day. Happy anniversary, sweetie!

One of the best parts of our life over the past few years has been how much of it we have been blessed to share with Lisa Jewett (pictured above with Marilyn). Tomorrow, Lisa faces surgery for ovarian cancer. While scary, it is also another reason that this day is very special. Today, we all become prayer warriors for her. It is Prayers For Lisa Day! Marilyn and I ask that you honor our anniversary by praying for our dear friend. Pray for her family. Pray for the surgeons and the other medical professionals at the Moffitt Cancer Center. Pray that tomorrow will be the beginning of the end of her disease. If you know Lisa, contact her and let her know you are praying, because your prayers matter to her. If you don't know her, pray anyway- and feel free to leave her a note in the comment section of this blog. Together with God, we all make up Team Lisa. And together, we can do this.

Not every guy is blessed to be able to celebrate two such amazing women on one special day. But today is that day, and I am that guy. I love them both and am blessed by them both. Today is a special day indeed. Celebrate with us!

Because of Jesus,

Happy 28th Anniversary to Us!

It's difficult to believe that Marilyn and I have been married for 28 years. We were married at Marilyn's home church, Poplar Springs Baptist, just outside of Elkin, NC. Our wedding was a special day, as we were surrounded by extended family, the best friends anyone ever had (see picture) and two ministers for which we had great love and respect. The actual wedding day was the end of a great week of events. It was also a week filled with stress, trying to sort out where we might live when the honeymoon was over, and what I was going to do about resigning my position in New England and when we might actually start at Springfield. It was emotionally exhausting, and by the end somewhat of a blur. But there were some things that I will never forget...

• My  Mom's sisters- Kathleen, Marie and Sue- threw us a pool party at a country club in Greensboro a few days before the big day. We had worried all along about how hot it would be in NC in late August, so imagine our surprise when the temperature didn't get out of the low 70's for our outdoor pool party. It was a great night, but not a whole lot of swimming going on...
• Pastor Mike Lane, one of the two officiating ministers, had been Marilyn's pastor at Poplar Springs. His wife, Judy, had shared a little concern about the entire process. At one point, several weeks before the wedding, she asked me the following question: "Quakers are just like Mormons, right?" It was not the last time I would be mistaken for a Mormon...
• One of Marilyn's co-workers had a house for rent in Greensboro that she said we could have without a lease until the house at Springfield was ready for us. God was working amidst the confusion...
• The rehearsal featured Alan Brown (see The Asheboro Flash) threatening to dangle his feet in the baptismal pool at the church while he sang.  We were planning a period of open worship during the service, which was quite confusing to the non-Quakers involved.  Marilyn's Dad, the late Posey Steele, gave us all a good laugh when answering the question "Who gives this woman in marriage?" His response?  "MY mother and I..."
• The rehearsal dinner at the Jonesville Holiday Inn was a blast, highlighted by great champagne toasts and the now infamous David Bills spoon on the nose trick...
• The groomsmen (see picture below) and I played football outside our little motel the morning of the big day...or was it wiffle ball?  It's all a blur...
• I had been so worried about my tux jacket, shirt and shoes fitting that I failed to notice that my pants were actually too short. I noticed while getting dressed at the church...
• The period of open worship, meant to be about 10 minutes, lasted about 3- I was ready to get on to the vows and jumped the gun...
• The late Hank Semmler, Steve and Carl's father and an English teacher, read our Quaker Wedding Certificate.  Every time he had to read the words "Marilyn Marie Steele" he would almost say "Marilyn Monroe Steele."  There were giggles...
• One of Marilyn's male friends showed up in a white tux...just in case I got cold feet, I suppose...
• We rode a few hundred yards to the reception in a horse drawn carriage. It was an awesome entrance...

• There was a ton of food at the reception, but I don't think Marilyn and I got any of it!  It was great to see so many friends, but after about an hour my face hurt from smiling...

It was indeed an amazing day. The thing I will remember most, however, is that somehow, despite all odds, I was marrying the most beautiful bride I had ever seen. We were going to cruise to the Bahamas on the Big Red Boat (thanks, Beth!), spend a few days at Walt Disney World, and then figure out where life would go from there.  Wherever it went, we were going together, and we were going with Jesus. Let the adventure begin!

Because of Jesus,