The following story I wrote for my true love, Sherri for Valentine’s Day, 2018.
Falling in love is easy, and can happen instantly, staying in love and living life together can be hard. A marriage is like a dance, It requires give and take, and yielding to each another.
This true life love story, is a heart-warming journey of one couple and the dance of life they began together.
Would they make it; or would they need an intervention from the Master Dancer?
Dance with Me
I dedicate this story to Sherri, the love of my life. She captured my heart many years ago, and I am still captivated by those inviting, mysterious eyes.
I have uncovered many treasures exploring the heart of this amazing girl; perhaps there are still undiscovered treasures; I will keep searching until I have them all!
A silver thread
It is January, and getting late in the evening; it is cold outside, four below zero, according to the weatherman. The wintry wind is gusting hard, and there is a chill in the house.
I glance across the living room and I see her, sitting sideways on the couch, feet stretched out, her favorite blanket snuggly tucked in around her.
As look over at her, I smile to myself; so glad she is warm on this cold night. As I walk past her, on my way to the kitchen, I see something unusual; a small silver strand, could it be? On my way back from the kitchen I walk closer to her, looking to see if my suspicions are true, and yes, there it is, a single silver thread, peeking out from her beautiful golden blond hair.
She notices my glance and quickly asks what I am looking at; “Oh, nothing” I say, as I head back to my seat, across from her, in our living room.
I dare not tell her what I found, or she would certainly be off to the hairdresser to vanquish that silver thread from the other recently highlighted strands. As I sit there, looking in her direction, she notices and asks what I am looking at; I just smile.
The silver thread causes my mind to drift back in time, the silver tint bringing memories of our first meeting; well at least the meeting that stands out to me. She recalls meeting me much earlier, and I vaguely recall it.
I do not dance!
I had just turned sixteen years old, recently getting my driver’s license and was out cruising. I decided to check out a school dance. As I went in to see what was going on, I recall a little blond-haired girl, all bubbly and chatty, bouncing over to me with some of her little friends; asking me to dance. I do not recall having ever seen her before, but as it turned out, she was best friends with my kid sister.
I looked at her and said quickly; “I do not dance;” thinking to myself, even if I did dance, I would not be dancing with a little twelve-year-old girl. I decided I had better get out of there, and off I went, never thinking again of the little blond-haired girl I had just met.
Little did I know that after I left the dance, she would go and tell all her friends that one day she was going to marry that boy she just asked to dance!
She recalls that meeting clearly, for me, it was a vague memory. Five years later, however, I would meet her again, a meeting that would change my world, and I will never forget it!
Who is that girl?
I had been away for nearly a year, living in the Pacific Northwest. I had returned home that winter, certain I would be heading back soon. I had been home for a few weeks and on one occasion, while stopping in to see my parents, there she was; the same little blond-haired girl that asked me to dance 5 years ago; wow . . . could this be the same girl?
She was still best friends with my kid sister and was down at my parent’s house visiting when I stopped in. My sister introduced me to her; reminding me that I had seen her before. If I ever did see her before, I never took much notice, but today, she had my full attention.
She was wearing blue jeans and a super soft, tight-fitting, long-sleeved turtleneck sweater; grayish silver in color, a perfect match to the silver strand I saw just peeking out from her golden hair a few moments ago in our living room.
She was all grown up now, she had all the right parts, in all the right places, and I took notice! I often joke with her, that I fell in lust with her that day, but truth be told, there was something much more intriguing to me than her perfect looks.
She makes my heart giggle
Our conversation was not very long that day, but as we chatted, I began to study what I was seeing, and I liked it . . . a lot!
She had a cute little thing she did with her glasses that made my heart giggle. She wore glasses that would occasionally slip down on her gently upturned nose; rather than constantly push them up with her finger, she would wrinkle her nose a little, and while doing that, her eyebrows and ears would lift a wee bit too; it was the cutest thing ever!
She still does it, and it is as cute today, as it was then.
It was not the glasses or the cute way she moved them with her nose that gripped me that day, nor was it her perfectly proportioned body; it was her eyes; gentle, olive green, with brown accents; tiny specks of gold dancing behind the lens of her glasses.
It is getting hot in here!
When I moved a little closer to her and she looked at me, I was startled; I felt flushed and could feel my face beginning to redden, so I moved off to the side of the room, pretending to look out the window, hoping she would not notice my reaction.
When I regained my composure, I wandered back over to her and we spoke some more; I needed to get another look at those eyes. There they were, captivating and mysterious. I could see that there was treasure hidden inside those eyes, there was an adventure in those eyes, and those eyes were calling me.
In that brief moment, time seemed to stop, those eyes were calling me to dance; not in the sense of being on a dance floor, but more like; “do the dance of life with me.” Her eyes were not asking me to dance; they were challenging me to dance; almost like, “I dare you, to dance the dance of life with me!”
Whoa! What was happening to me! Again, I felt flushed and I knew I needed to get some air. I made some lame excuse to leave, and jumped into my car and sped away, going for a long drive.
It was still winter, but I drove with the window down, trying to cool off, trying to shake the crazy feelings going through my being!
Was I falling in love?
A few weeks went by, and I still could not shake the feeling I had; was I in love? How can that be? Torn inside, all I could see were those eyes, calling me, beckoning me, and daring me.
Well, it turned out that my kid sister had a crush on my best friend, so it seemed like a good idea, to get together for a double date. Yes! I was so excited, I would get to spend a whole evening with this girl; I could not wait.
A day before the date, we got word that she could not go; her parents refused to allow it. Not wanting to ruin the weekend for my sister, another girl would take the place of her best friend on the date.
She was a cute little blond-haired girl, bubbly and full of herself. We all went out and tried to have fun, but my mind was in another place; all I could see were those eyes, those beautiful eyes, calling me.
I tried to be attentive to this other girl, but was distracted; to be honest, I could not wait for the night to be over. I am sure the little blonde-haired girl knew I was distracted too; the night finally ended and I laid awake, thinking of how I could get close to those eyes again.
It is time to meet her father
I got courage a couple of weeks later and decided to go to her house and take her for a ride. I recall knocking on the door of her home and her father answered the door. I stood there and I said to her father; “Hi, I am here to see your daughter.” It only took him a millisecond to say; “no you’re not” and he promptly shut the door in my face! Well, that did not go the way I thought it would!
I found out that she was a babysitter on the weekends, so I decided to stop in and “help” her. I would go week after week; then my car broke down, and then I would walk, run, or hitchhike the 6 miles to town just to see her. I had fallen deeply in love with this girl; I was in, lock, stock, and barrel; I wanted to dance!
Later that summer, I had a job offer; it would take me to Ohio. I needed work, and was having trouble finding a job in our hometown; I made the decision I would go to Ohio and take the job. I would be leaving in a couple of days.
Arrest warrant issued for kidnapping . . .
I asked her if she wanted to go too, and those eyes looked back at me and in a flash, said yes! I would pick her up at midnight; she came sneaking out of her house, with a pillow and some clothes; jumping into the car, we sped off into the night . . . is this what it means to dance?
We ran off to Ohio, soon to realize that her family was not happy about this; since I was 21 now and she was still only 17, there were warrants put out for my arrest; the charge was kidnapping! Her father was best friends with the county sheriff!
She was able to call home and told her father if he ever wanted to see her again, to get the charges dropped, which he did, and we proceeded to dance in Ohio.
Neither of us knew how to dance the dance of life, so we just went for it; creating our own dance moves; some of those moves were wild, crazy; even dangerous.
No constraints to hold us back, no idea of what the future looked like, we were dancing out of control but did not care, we were together, and that was all that mattered!
My mind comes back to the living room, I glance back over at her, still snuggled in her favorite blanket; a new pair of pink slippers, caressing her feet; a recent Christmas gift from our daughter; our firstborn child, and the memories return once again, and my mind drifts back . . .
We are going to have a baby!
Later that fall; still living in Ohio, I came home from work one afternoon, she looked at me, her eyes full of concern; she was pregnant; we were going to have a baby!
Oh no, what are we going to do? We decided it was best for us to head back to our hometown and I would find a new job. In May, we are going to have a baby!
I will never forget the week our daughter was born. It began Sunday evening; labor pains began in earnest, but a false alarm, no baby yet. The next day the pains would come again, even stronger now, still no baby.
I remember on the 27th, the pains were unbearable and she was struggling. She motions for me to come near and I bend down close to her; as she begins to have another contraction, she reaches up, grabbing my beard, pulling me close to those eyes and she says; “I hate you, I hate you.”
I pull back a bit, her eyes are full of fear, unsure of what is next, she grabs my hand and pulls me in closer, and says; “I love you, I love you.”
Those beautiful eyes looking into mine and they say; “Is this dancing?”
On the 28th, we became proud parents of the most beautiful baby girl; and we continued to dance the dance of life together.
Time for a wedding
Not long after our daughter was born, we decided it was time to tie the knot, so we got married. I remember the excitement of that day. It came time for the wedding dance, and she stood on my feet; eyes sparkling, and she looked at me and said; “Dance!”
I laughed as we danced around and around, her feet on top of mine.
After the wedding, we jumped on my dad’s motorcycle; I did not have a license to drive one, but it did not matter. We had a small overnight bag strapped on the back of the motorcycle and we headed off to the movies, watching The Fox and the Hound on our wedding night!
Not many years after our wedding, we began to realize that our dancing was becoming harder to do. I was working away from home each week; she was raising our daughter alone and without much support.
It seemed that we were each dancing a different dance and our lives seemed to be drifting apart.
Her eyes were on fire!
I recall one night, coming home from work, and rather than heading straight home to be with my wife and daughter, I decided to stop at a nearby pub to unwind.
I recall hearing a loud noise, it was the front door of the pub slamming hard, everyone turned to see, and there she stood, holding our little daughter in her arms; those beautiful eyes that once dared me to dance, were now on fire!
Her words were sharp; “Your wife and your daughter would like to see you this weekend if that’s not too much to ask!”
She spun around, taking our daughter home; I felt like she just threw her dance shoes at me. I wondered; are we finished dancing? Is this the end?
We tried to change our lives, but it was so hard. We would have another child soon, a son and we did our best to keep dancing.
Our dance moves became confused; I still wanted to dance to all the fast songs, she wanted to dance the slow dance. We began to step on each other’s toes, and the dance of life was getting harder and harder to bear. We were growing weary and did not know what to do.
Back in my living room, emotions are welling up, as my mind takes me on the roller coaster ride, which was our life. She is still over there, and she looks over at me and asks if I am ok, I smile and say; “I’m fine.”
I noticed a new purple Bible in her hand, another recent gift. She has become a real student of that Book, and once again, the memories come in like a flood!
The Master Dancer
One hot summer night, we found ourselves in a new dance hall; a place we had never been to before, with people we barely knew.
As the last song was being played, I found myself at one side of the dance hall, and she at the other; both of us in tears, not knowing what the future would bring; we were both out of dance moves, perhaps this was, the last dance.
As the last song began to wind down, the Master Dancer brought both of us together. He looked into our eyes, and without saying a word, His eyes said it all; “Dance with Me.” It was there, in that hot, musty old dance hall, we said yes to the Master Dancer, and we asked Him to teach us how to dance.
We learned new dance moves
Since then, we have learned some new moves, we have learned how to let the other lead, we have learned when to slow dance and when to dance fast. The Master Choreographer has given us new dance steps; dance moves we never knew existed.
Not long after we met the Master Dancer, we found out that we were going to have another baby; something we did not expect! We would have another son, and what a blessing! Is this what it means to dance?
Oh, occasionally we have stepped on each other’s toes, but we have the best Coach, He is always there to help us when we falter. We have learned to love the Master; He has taught us so much about life, about ourselves, and about Him.
Over the years, we have danced in front of hundreds of people. The Master called us to lead by example, showing others how to dance the dance of life.
The Master has allowed us to dance in many places; we have danced in Canada, Norway and we have danced all the way to the Pacific Ocean and back. We have danced in the Caribbean Ocean, in Puerto Rico, and a hundred places in between.
I am a blessed man!
Back in my living room, as I look over at that beautiful person across from me, I truly begin to understand how blessed I am. I have been dancing with this girl for nearly 40 years, and I plan to finish the dance of life with her. She is my lover, my confidant, and my best friend.
Someone once said, that falling in love is not a choice; but staying in love is; those words are true. When I walked past that 17-year-old girl in my parents’ house that winter afternoon, and I saw those eyes looking at me; calling to me; I fell in love; smitten if you will! No dating necessary, no long courtship needed, I was in love.
To stay in love required more than I was capable of giving, my own shortcomings got in the way, my own wants, my own desires, began pushing out hers, and this would become a great problem.
I am forever grateful for the intervention of the Master Dancer in our lives; He rescued us in so many ways.
To the dear blond-haired girl, with the captivating eyes, I just want you to know how very much I love you. You mean the world to me; thank you for dancing with me for all these years. I cannot wait to see what new moves the Master Dancer has in store for us; whatever they are, dancing with you, will always be a joy.
To those who have been listening in . . .
To my children, grandchildren, or anyone else, who may have a chance to read this love story, I encourage you; do not be afraid to dance.
If you choose to live your life as a single person, make sure your dance partner is the Master Dancer. Life with Him will NEVER be dull, boring, or unfulfilled, learn His steps, and do the dance with Him; your life will have meaning, substance and great joy.
A single person can live a life unfettered by the demands of raising a family and can do amazing things with the Master.
If on the other hand, you wish to fall in love, as we did, let me warn you, it is risky business. Look into those eyes if you dare, and if it is the right person, you will know. Open your heart to them, keep nothing back, and keep pressing in.
A married life is not easy, it requires that you submit to one another, it requires a yielding of your lives to each other; this can be very difficult; you will need much help.
Be sure that the Master Dancer is a part of your lives. Learn from Him, trust Him, and let Him lead. If you do this, your life together will one of tremendous joy full of many great rewards.
Life is risky, after all, none of us get out of this life alive; however, with the Master Dancer, the dancing does not stop when this life ends; it continues and with much more fervor and energy!
So . . . are going to just sit there, or are you going to dance? The music is playing, it’s time to put your dancing shoes on . . . Go!
What the Master Dancer says about Marriage
Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything.
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.
So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church, because we are members of His body.
For this reason, a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This mystery is great, but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church. Nevertheless, each individual among you also is to love his own wife even as himself, and the wife must see to it that she respects her husband.