The Love of My Life!!

By the time most of you read this it will be Ellen's birthday (August 2). It's the big 4-0! She is handling it much better than I did.

I am the most blessed man for having met Ellen. This November, Lord willing, we will have been married for 23 years. We met in the summer of 1983. I knew from the moment I saw her that I loved her. Before that time, I was skeptical about this "love at first sight" concept, but not afterwards.

We met in a cemetery at a church decoration day. My first words to her were, "I'm dying to know your name." I know that sounds like a goofy line, but I really meant it. I wanted to know who she was. We met that first Sunday in May and three months later I proposed and three months after that on November 4, 1983, we promised to be with one another for the rest of our lives.

In our wedding ceremony, one of the few things I remember about what brother Kretzer said was, "You may think you love one another today, but that love will grow more than you can imagine." Well, he was right. My love for her is much stronger and deeper than it ever was then.

She has blessed my life with four wonderful kids. She is truly my best friend. She knows things about me that no one else knows or ever will know. We share everything and still enjoy being with each other as much as we can possibly be.

Ellen is an "overcomer." She has overcome family struggles that many people have never had or if they have had them have ended up on skid row or with deep emotional scars. She has overcome physical problems having had to deal with thyroid disease. When we met, she was extremely shy and would hardly speak to people. She has certainly overcome that.

Ellen is one of the first people my age who I met in my life who had real faith. She had convictions and was not about to compromise for any reason. She was full of faith from the day we found each other and is the real reason I am where I am today in faith to God. She's never given up on me--not one time and that says a lot about her character and patience.

Thanks for letting me write about the love of my life. I pray that God will allow me to grow old with her as we watch the stories of our children's lives unfold.