I love to tell my children the stories of my life. It is part of their spiritual heritage – to hear the stories of wonder and victory and power that God has wrought in my life. And they love to hear my stories. Over the years, I’ve found that their friends love my stories too. So I’m posting the story of my courtship and engagement with Kevin, my wonderful loving husband of almost 35 years.
I hope you enjoy our story!
Episode 1
I’ve posted this story on Facebook awhile ago but thought it would be fun to re-post it here. So, here are the several parts to Our Story.
In 1982 I was living in the second floor of a house with my best friend Dianne and another friend Pat and working as a secretary in the Boston area. We were part of a house fellowship of believers who eventually moved en masse to an Evangelical Free Church (Chuck Swindoll pastored there for a very short time many years before this). I can only imagine what a pastor must think when one week 35 new people joined the worship! We eventually did all join that church…
Episode 2
Dianne and I got to New Mexico and would have left within 48 hours had we not totalled the car (will post a Car Story some day). We were simply devastated by the lack of vegetation (I had NO idea there were so many shades of
BROWN – and that what everyone else thought was green was another shade of brown according to New England standards)!!! But God had some definite plans…Episode 3
And, of course, the piano player was a young barely 20 year old named Kevin Megill.
Dianne and I had many discussions with the pastors/elders (there were 2 of them) about their church but we were very confused about how the single folk functioned. The church sort of encouraged non-dating. Of course, for us New England gals, this was a whole new idea and we thought it kind of weird! (many of you reading this may feel the same way 😉 ) We didn’t want to come in to the church and try to bring division so we asked if they had any problems with us having social times with the guys and gals who were single and we were given the green light…
Episode 4
It was a summer of coincidences. Or so I thought. But in hindsight, they were God-ordained coincidences for His purpose. Some of the things that happened:
Kevin and I got partnered together for evangelism training by someone totally unaware of our feelings for one another
we were both (along with my roommate Dianne) involved in a bible study that was 1/2 hour out of town and he needed a ride and I was the only one available so we drove together each week and talked and talked and talked…Episode 5
OK, you have to remember that neither Kevin nor I wanted to be married unless we were CONVINCED that it was from God and that we could be more effective in ministry together than we could be alone. And we weren’t interested in being in a relationship/courtship unless we were pursuing wisdom toward marriage. So, our courtship was really not a lot like the dating relationships you may have seen or experienced…
The Engagement
The Sunday morning we announced our engagement at church one of the men said to his wife, “I think someone is telling us they are engaged today. I just feel it!” Then he mentally went through his list of the possible guys who could be engaged. As Kevin stood up in front to share something, Albert thought, “Wait a minute! He’s not on my list!” Then he did a rapid listing of the possible girls Kevin could be engaged to and when MY name was shared, he thought, “Wait a minute! She’s not on my list EITHER!!”
The Final Episode
In my last episode I shared how we switched the plans for our wedding in the month before we got married. We moved it from Albuquerque, NM to Florida where my parents lived. Kevin and I flew out with 2 of my bridesmaids and our pastor on Friday, the day before the wedding.
My parents met us at the airport and took us to the license bureau; we arrived there at 4:45 pm and they closed at 5! The last $5 we had went to pay for the license…
What a blessing to your children that you have recorded your love story this way! Happy anniversary to you, friend. Wishing you many, many more.
Sorry I’m so late in responding…thanks so much Laura!!
I really enjoyed your story!! I love your bridesmaids’ dresses!!
Oh, how sweet! Thanks for reading. For the bridesmaids, I had a pattern for a Gunney Sax skirt and I picked out the material and ribbon and they made their own. And they just picked out long sleeved white blouses and whatever shoes they wanted. We got married on a shoestring!! 😀
We got married on a shoestring too! I had a dotted swiss gunny sack dress and made a lacy jacket sort of thing to go over it, wore a $5.hat, and made my bridesmaid’s dresses. We didn’t have a meal. The ladies at church made it and I think paid for it as far as I can remember. Most of the flowers were given to my brother for us to use from a wedding the day before. Our photos are only the proofs. You get the idea? Well, back in 1979 most people didn’t have meals…that was just starting for all I know!!