On this blessed day!

"But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." Matthew 6:33

"Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled." Matthew 5:6

"Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favor of the Lord." Proverbs 18:22

It was 12 years and 8 days ago in the afternoon, on a lonely Sunday drive home, when my life began to change- though I didn't know it at the time. I had walked away from God for a time (out of anger at him), and had only recently came back to him and "prayed back through" (as we Pentecostals call it). I had gone to visit a dear friend of mine in south Georgia that weekend and was on my way back to my rented room in Lawrenceville.

My friend, David, has a beautiful family and as much as I enjoyed being with him, my heart yearned for a family of my own, especially a wife. I had been through a failed marriage of my own (the reason I walked away from God in the first place) and now found myself yearning for the love of a good woman (Yes, I mean LOVE- not lust).

My newly cleansed heart began to cry out to Jesus for what I desired and knew I needed. I drove with tears running down my face and one hand raised in the air- worshipping my God and petitioning him for my needs. As I prayed, I reminded him that he had said that "it is not good for man to be alone." Then I made the request that would change my life: "Lord, I need a wife, but I want this one to love you more than she loves me." Little did I know the glorious changes that would bring.

The very next day, at about 10 AM (forgive me, honey, if I get the hour wrong- I'm close), my boss walked up to me with a beautiful woman following him. He spoke to me and said, "Mike. This is Della. Would you mind training her?" My first thought was amazement that he would ask me to train anyone at all. I'd only been on the job for 10 days! My next thought came after seeing the trainee- she was beautiful! Sure, boss, I'll be happy to train her!

As we talked, I could see that she was as sweet as she was beautiful. The biggest thing that stuck out to me, however, was her love for God. She really loved him!

One week later, I worked up the courage to ask her out to dinner. To my joy, she accepted. As we walked out the door of the warehouse, heading to my car, I suddenly remembered- I hadn't cleaned my car out! I was a true bachelor. There were fast food bags and newspapers galore in the floor board of the passenger front seat! Would she see this and walk away? It was too late now. All I could do was pray, "Lord, Help me".

When I opened the door to let her in, I didn't see her face. I'm sure she was shocked, but she said nothing. To my delight, she got in. The poor woman's knees almost touched her chin, due to the floor board's garbage.

We went to Ryans and got the buffet. I have no idea what I ate, nor who else was around. All I could see was Della. She was even more charming outside of work than she was at work. We talked for a while and, too soon, the evening was over.

The following Saturday, she invited me over to her Dad's house and helped me clean my car. Apparently, she saw something in me more than my being a slob! I'm still not sure what.

A few weeks later, she asked me to accompany her to her mother's grave, who had passed away one year earlier. We went after work. It was a starry night, so it wasn't very hard to find the grave. As Della cried softly on my shoulder, the Lord spoke to me: "This is my gift to you and your responsibility. Take care of her." I began to cry with her.

On February 23, 1999, one year to the day after our first date- and one year and seven days since we first met and one year and eight days after I cried out to my God for a Godly wife- Della and I married! God is so good!

Della has followed me and the call of God on our lives ever since. We've lived in Ga, Tx, Ms, Ar, and now Pa. We've had times of plenty, and times of little. We've had times of laughter, and times of tears. But always, we've had God and each other. She prayed for me when I was week, backed me up when I was right, and spiritually spanked me when I was wrong. A better help mate could never be found!

So, on this day, my love, I want to tell the world how much I thank God for you! I also want to tell the world and you, that I truly love Della Mae Winskie- now and always. Thank you for tolerating me these 11 years! I still don't know who's training who! With love, from your husband, Mike