A Charmed Life

“Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.”
Psalms 37: 4

The year was 1983 and I had just graduated from Bowling Green State University. My fiance, Ken, was a senior at Virginia Tech, majoring in Chemical Engineering. I applied there to graduate school and lived in the same apartment complex as he during that year, just a short walk away.

It was an interesting year. I was taking graduate classes and taught college freshman English. Ken was finishing the last of his courses, interviewing at every opportunity. Professional jobs were hard to secure and he was determined to find a good job. We were planning a wedding and going full speed ahead, even though we weren't sure what kind of job he would have after he graduated. (Yet somehow we planned our wedding for the Saturday after the Saturday he graduated. In retrospect, that probably was not the brightest idea!) Because of VT’s outstanding reputation as an engineering school, lots of employers interviewed there, but LOTS of graduates were looking for jobs. Ken spent countless nights waiting in line all night to take any "open" interview spots in addition to any other interviews he was able to secure.

It was a stressful time. I'm sure it was more stressful for Ken than it was for me. We prayed he would be offered a job as our wedding date loomed. We were hopeful. We were optimistic. We were young. We were naïve. But, we were also believers. We prayed and we believed God would take care of us. Most importantly, we prayed that He would show us what His will was for us.

Ken’s chemical engineering friends weren't quite sure what to make of our approach to this huge mountain in front of us. They were a fun-loving group, yet they were also realistic, non-believer types who thought we were probably a little too optimistic. They watched us closely because we were the only ones in this study group he'd met with for years planning a wedding in such uncertain economic circumstances. We continued to pray and believe.

And then it happened. Ken was offered not one, but two awesome job opportunities: one in South Carolina with Milliken, a textile manufacturer (which he ultimately accepted); and a second, with a fairly new (to-me) company called Intel, some computer chip company out west (some computer chip company indeed!).

And then we were tagged as having a “charmed life.” So when Ken and I saw this sign (shown above) a few years ago, we bought it. It says "and they lived happily ever after..." It hangs in our kitchen to remind us of that time in our lives so many years ago and how far we’ve come – not because we are charmed – but because of God’s grace and His love and provision for us.

I bet you’re wondering if we regret going south and not taking the job at Intel? We actually came very close to moving west. Ken felt it was an amazing opportunity - and it was. But when we prayed about it, we felt God leading us south. We’ve never looked back and never regretted it. In fact, we’ve never regretted any of our 13 moves, but we sure are grateful for the last 13 years here in Orrville! It has been such a charmed life. The Lord has truly given me the desires of my heart.