The year was 1970, it was a Saturday morning, I was a junior in high school. My mother answered the door to receive an Easter floral arrangement from her employer at the time. After she closed the door she called to me from the kitchen and asked me if I knew the boy delivering flowers for the local florist shop. I glanced out the living room window and saw him walking back down our walkway toward the driveway where the delivery van was parked. I
did know him, he was in my Chemistry class. "
He was so polite" my mother said, in the background. I intently watched the delivery boy back out of our driveway. He had the driver's door opened and he leaned out, looking backward, as he maneuvered out of our driveway. I was impressed at his driving ability. Hey, I was 16; at that time I didn't even have a driver's license yet, this skill made an impression. When I saw him on Monday at school he spoke first: "
I was at your house on Saturday." We lived in a very small town, I had already figured that he knew where I lived after the delivery. I still recall my response: "y
ou're a very good backer." He smiled at the compliment and I remember thinking that was the stupidest remark I could have made, I was embarrassed and thought of so many other replies that would have been so much better, so much more clever, but those remained forever in my head as he walked away.
Fast forward to 2020. The back of our car is filled with Easter lilies ordered for our Easter worship service tomorrow. That service that won't occur. The lilies were ordered before restrictions on gathering, before we understood how widespread the virus would be, before the world turned upside down. 🙃 We left the order standing with the small, family-run greenhouse, they need the business. What to do with the lilies though? They would be delivered to doorsteps, that's what! Mr. Goodneedle took to the streets early yesterday morning, one by one, the Easter lilies were delivered to homes for online Easter worship tomorrow morning. Yes, you guessed it, fifty years later that cute delivery boy with the impressive driving skills is doing the very same thing. Apparently he wasn't appalled at what I thought was a stupid reply regarding his ability to drive in reverse, he was flattered. Some days I still watch him through the window when he's working outside and wonder how I ever got so lucky. He has been a constant blessing in my life. It wasn't until years later that my mother told me that he had inquired of her, when he handed off the flowers, if I lived at that address too. She knew that he knew me, and that's what prompted her to ask me if I knew him as he was leaving. Five short years later I married that boy; I've never looked back.
It was true love-- signed sealed and delivered!
Life is Good!
You may remember that a short while ago I posted about the movie Fireproof and how much my husband and I liked it. The premise of the movie is a forty day "love dare", or challenge, designed to be approached deliberately and with conscious commitment to make one's marriage stronger, it is based on scripture. I believe we already have a strong marriage but what was the harm in exploring this concept further? I decided to give it a try. It's a day to day process and my husband doesn't know that I am doing this. On day five this challenge was put forth: "Ask your spouse to tell you three things that cause him or her to be uncomfortable or irritated with you. You must do so without attacking them or justifying your behavior. This is from their perspective only." Hmmm. I wondered about this one and decided to just come right out and ask him. I assured him beforehand that I was going to ask him a question because I really, truly, wanted an honest opinion and there would be no negative repercussions. He just stared at me. He told me he couldn't think of anything I did that made him uncomfortable or irritated. He's a smart man. "Go ahead, I urged... it's OK, I asked". Nope, nothing. He said he'd think about it. Later on, at bedtime I crawled in wearing my favorite threadbare T-shirt and worn out pajama bottoms. "That's one thing you could change" he said, quietly. "Huh"? "You asked me to tell you three things, that's one". I was flabbergasted... I expected "you talk too much, you're opinionated, you worry too much"... something along those lines, but never considered a brutal review of my threadbare sleepwear! "Really?" I asked, incredulously, this is something that bothers you? "Yes, he went on, it's really a hodgpodge of things you pull out of that drawer to sleep in, don't you have anything nicer?" I laughed. "Sure I do, a few things, I don't know what I'm saving them for!" I guess I'll be putting together some things to make a run to Goodwill soon, I know that someone could use an otherwise perfectly good Tonight Show T-shirt!
