Nov 14, 1999

I have a great memory. I remember a lot of dates. I remember the date I met Jim, the date I realized I was falling for him, the date he first told me he loved me, the date I first told him I loved him, the date we got engaged, the date we picked out my engagement ring, the date I bought my dress, the date we met with the photographer, reception hall manager, pastor.

Of course our entire courtship, from meet-to-marry, was 6 weeks.

Yes, I said 6 weeks. Common sense picked a bad time to take a vacation.

From the start, Jim wanted to get married. He "jokingly" asked me the first time he talked to me on the phone, 2 days before meeting. He asked again 3 days after we met. The first 8 days we knew each other was a whirlwind, to put it mildly. He told me over and over again I was his "angel" who had rescued him from despair; that he was going to treat me like a "princess" for the rest of my life; that he loved me, would never leave me or hurt me. I felt like I was in the twister that took Dorothy over the rainbow. I thought I had waited 31 years to meet my prince and there he was. I dismissed his lack of strong faith as having just lost his Mother 1 month before we met; dismissed the pending criminal charges against him as the fault of the cheating ex-fiance; dismissed the touch of a temper I saw in him as stress.

They say love is blind and it sure can be.

I believed in my heart that all he needed was a good woman who would encourage him, love him & be faithful.

We stayed up talking all night November 13-14th and I "knew' God was telling me to finally trust my heart & marry the man He had chosen for me. We were engaged at 4 am on Nov. 14th. We bought donuts and went to tell my parents at the crack of dawn. They were a bit cautious but really liked Jimmy. I can still remember the feeling of joy I felt. I had finally found a man who would never hurt me, would never leave me & who would treat me good. All the loneliness I had felt in my life seemed worth the wait.

I can't say that I didn't have any "caution signs' during the next 5 weeks before marrying him; but I pushed past them all because I believed in him.

and I believed in love.