God's Providence

Life is full of surprises. When I began my married life 35 years ago, little did I know what roads God would take us on. I want to tell you a little about the beginning of our marriage and show how God's providence has brought us to this place in our lives where we are the owners and operators of two Christian preschools here in Tennessee.
It all began one Sunday when my husband was 12 year's old and he and his family decided to visit the church my family was a member of. The first impression was what kind of family is that, the boys are wearing shorts to church. Of course back then nobody wore shorts, I have to add they were his boy scout uniform shorts, but still it was a scandal. The little Congregational Methodist church we attended provided the youth a reason to fellowship after church. We either went bowling, movies, miniture golfing or a trip to the Pizza Hut. When we wanted Perry to go with us sometimes his family would not let him, so we would pick up snacks (like a watermelon) and go over to his house, and fellowship on his patio with the record player blarring the Beatles or some other hit song of the hour. I can still remember his dad doing the twist to the chargrin of my husband.
I remember thinking he was pretty cute but never did I think we would end up being married. His parents must have had other thoughts because one Sunday after church when my precious mother would go and sit in the car and wait for her girls to visit with their friends was approached by his mother and she asked my mom "what do you think about a woman being older than the husband?" then she confided she was older than Perry's dad.
We continued to see each other at church and on church outings, until the summer he turned 15, I had graduated from high school and made plans to attend our Bible college in a little town close to Waco, TX, and left for two years of junior college.
Meanwhile he did not lack for girlfriends, but every time I was home for a visit he always called me and we talked for hours on the phone late at night. When I returned home and started to attend UTA in Arrlington, TX we continued our friendship. We started dating the October of 1970 and a month later on November 21 (my sister's birthday) he asked me to marry him and gave me a diamond engagement ring. Two months later we broke up and to make a long story short he joined the Navy in Feb of 1971 and when he returned home from boot camp we were married a week later. In our 35 years of marriage we have moved an average of every two years. We have lived in Mass., Texas, Mississippi, Texas, Ohio, Florida, Illinois and finally Tennessee. Our first son Perry III was born in Fall River, Mass. close to Newport, R.I. when he was 6 months old my husband moved us back to Texas because he thought he was going to be stationed in the Mediterrean for two years. He was released from the Navy in 1975 and sent home in the spring of 1975.Until September of that year he was given full pay and benefits and his duty station was our apartment. While I worked at an oil company in downtown Fort Worth he stayed home and babysat our son Perry III. (to be continued)