Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Turning Points

Hello Friends!

My husband, Cecil and I recently celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary, and 34 years since we started dating. Both of these dates are so special to us. The day we started dating holds extra special meaning to us. I don’t want to lessen the significance of our wedding, but without this other day, we would never have had a wedding! How my life’s journey could have been so different.

Our Wedding Day - July 19, 1985
Valentines Day 1982 - Dating for 4 months


















That day became what I call a “Turning Point” in my life. The choices that were made that day set Cecil and I on a life-long journey together. Had our choices been different, who knows where our lives would be. Because, don’t forget, God has given us a free will, and there are many examples in the Bible of Turning Points, both good and bad that changed peoples lives forever. Before I tell you my story, I want to note 2 things: 1. This is not a real “spiritual”, dig-in-your-Bible kind of blog. It’s more an example of how God has poured out His grace on my life! 2. At the end of this blog I will list a few people in the Bible (with references). So you can read for yourself some of these biblical examples of turning points. 

For now, back to one of the biggest Turning Points in my life…


The evening of Saturday, October 3, 1981 my parents, my sister Becky and myself went to the State Fair of Oklahoma. When we arrived we met up with a few of the guys from our church youth group, including Cecil. Becky and I had already made plans to meet them and go do our own thing while mom and dad did theirs. Before we could take off, my dad made sure the guys understood one very important thing, one of them was to hold the hand of each of his daughter’s the entire time we were at the Fair. This was because earlier 3 girls had been abducted from there and killed. My dad wanted to make sure someone knew where we were at all times and that nothing happened to us! So Cecil took my hand, and one of the other guys took Becky’s and off we went. To be real honest, I don’t remember much about that night except that I had to have been the happiest girl on earth! Here I was 15 years old, a sophomore in High School, walking around the Fair, holding hands with the one boy I had always loved. In fact, when I was 11, I believe God showed me that he would one day be my husband. My heart was completely full. I’m sure we rode various rides up and down the midway, but nothing is completely clear until we were standing in line for a ride similar to this one…

I’m sure the ride had gone through 2 or 3 cycles as we waited. Finally, we would be in the next group on. Cecil and I stood there, next to the railing when he turned to me, and for the first time, he leaned down and kissed me. Wow! What a surprise that was! In that One Single Kiss our lives were changed forever! He knew it and I knew it!

Since then, we have talked about the fact that he knew I was crazy about him, but I had no confirmation that he cared for me in any other way than as a sister. I knew that he was my very best friend. That I could talk to him about anything. Though he hated to talk on the phone, he would indulge me and talk more often than he cared to. By this time in our friendship, I believe I was the closest “girl” friend he had. He also had very few things he wouldn’t talk to me about. Still there were never any conversations about his feelings for me. He tells me now that he knew he had feelings for me before the night of the Fair, but he wasn’t ready to let me know. However, the conditions of holding my hand all night, endless waiting for rides, and the desire to kiss me were irresistible. He did wait a while into the evening because the life-altering question kept coming to mind, “Do you really want to commit to her?” Cecil knew, just as I did, that with that one kiss, we would be bonded together forever! I am so glad he chose to take that step of faith!

Yes! Cecil was right! It did change our lives forever! I would say that other than the decision to accept Jesus as my savior, the choice to love Cecil and to kiss him that night 34 years ago was the best decision I have ever made

One Single Kiss & 34 Years Later
He is My Best Friend
&
The Love of My Life!

 We have an amazing family after 30 wonderful years!

Living in Grace,

Angie


Biblical People and Turning Point Choices
Think about these things:
Were the events good or bad?
Were the choices good or bad?
What sort of outcome did these events and choices lead to?
Do I think about the choices I make and how they are impacting my life?

Adam & Eve-Genesis 3
Jonathan & David-I Samuel 20
Job-starts in Job 1 and continues
Daniel-Daniel 6
Judas-Matthew 26
Peter-Mark 14:66-72
Paul-Acts 9


These are just a few of the many, many examples in the Bible.