Happy Anniversary, Mrs. Gilbert

From My Perspective – August 1, 2018
A teenage boy was sitting in the choir during a Sunday night worship service.  He was the only teenager in the choir, surrounded by adults.  Just before the service started, the boy noticed a girl.  She was walking into the back of the church, and even a long way off, she looked really good to the boy in the choir. She was wearing a navy dress, and she had long, straight hair, almost down to her waist.   Her skin was perfectly tanned.
 
As she walked down the aisle to take a seat, the boy asked the man sitting beside him, “Who is that girl?” He explained to the boy that she was a girl who lived in the neighborhood, and she had friends and family in the church. The boy, having fully fallen under her spell - this was based on looks alone at this point – said to the man, “I’m going to marry that girl some day!”
 
The girl was fourteen years old. The boy was fifteen years old. They became friends. Then they fell in love.  Then six years later, they got married.  Her name was Angela Owens, and his name was Dale Gilbert.  Today, Dale and Angela celebrate thirty-seven years of marriage. It all started in church.  It continues today because God gives us grace and keeps us together.
 
I still sit up on the podium at church and watch her walk in.  My heart still skips a beat or two every time. 
 
We talk about love at church all the time.  Love comes in many forms.  I’ve experienced them all at church.
 
See you Sunday.  What we do here matters.
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