Once Upon a Time...

...there was a beautiful young Baylor co-ed and a handsome officer. A mutual friend set them up on a blind date. He thought that they might have something in common and hit it off. He proved to be very insightful.

They had a great first date, then a great second. They had the proverbial chemistry, covalent bonds that tied them together. Maybe it was because they’d each had rough childhoods. His parents split at a young age, and each of her parents had passed away by the time she went off to college. Maybe it was their common geography, growing up in tiny East Texas towns not two hours from one another.

But every love story has a threat, and this one is no different. He was in the Air Force and there was a war on. He would be shipping out in a few weeks. Starting off a dating relationship and then heading off to a war zone seemed a bit selfish and unfair. Could they bear to be apart for the one to two year tour of duty? She was 19 and he was 25, each far too young to assess clearly the situation as mature adults.

The rational thing was to wait until he returned and reconnect after a year apart. The irrational thing would be to get married to someone they had known for four weeks. It would be even more irrational to suggest that a marriage would survive with its two partners cleaved apart by the Pacific for an entire year.

But it is for moments like this that God placed our emotional center not in our head but deep in our hearts.

So they behaved rashly, some might say (some did say) foolishly. They put all their money on the roulette wheel and doubled down.

The ball just landed on 40.

Happy Fortieth Mom and Dad. You are both blessed and your three sons remain in awe of that reckless, crazy, irrational decision you made forty years ago today!!

Although we're obviously grateful.