Linda persuaded me to post my half of our story — said you folks would like to read it. Not so sure about that — but here it is.

I was single all my life — my Navy career had become my wife, my lover, my family. Then, suddenly after 21 years of “marriage” to the Navy, I was alone. My retirement forced me to take a good, hard look at myself and I didn’t like what I saw. I drank too much; I weighed to much; I was lonely.

But, even so, it took me about ten years to finally reach the end of myself and fall to my face in surrender to God’s will for the rest of my life. I literally fell to my knees, then on my face and asked God to take control of the mess that was my life. If you want me to have a wife, I prayed, then bring me a good woman, one I can be happy with. I asked him to clean me up, to help me stop drinking. And it happened. Just like that.

I started exercising and jogging, started eating right. Quit the booze. Started going to church. My life totally changed for the better and I knew God was answering my prayers.

I was sober for a year when I met Linda and I’ve never returned to my old way of life — don’t want to. I knew almost immediately that she was “the one.” Her personality just grabbed me. It was like we had known each other forever.

It’s still like that. I guess you would say we are true soulmates. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Walter

“The luckiest man in the world is coming in!” My husband’s voice rang out as he returned from a ride on his mountain bike. I was in the bathroom putting on my makeup. I smiled at my reflection in the mirror. He is always saying silly things so I could hardly wait for the end of this tale. I called out, “Why lucky? Did you almost have an accident?”

“No!” He responded happily, “I’m married to you!”

I breathed a happy sigh as the sheer joy of living and loving washed over me. It is so wonderful to be so loved and to love in return. Words cannot adequately describe it.

It wasn’t always that way in my life.

When visiting with a friend several years ago, I watched with envy as she interacted with her husband — there was no doubt she was his queen and he was her king. It was so refreshing to see the love and caring between them. And, what was even more amazing to me is they had been married for almost 20 years. I wished with all my heart I had that kind of relationship!

But my marriage was a poor substitute for what they had and it ultimately ended in divorce.

I was alone for several years before I met my soulmate. I wasn’t really looking for him — in fact, after years of marriage to the wrong person I had settled for being single. My friends were always trying to “fix me up” with someone. In fact I made the statement to my sister-in-law that I might be interested in someone if he met my requirements — then I set the requirements so high no one could meet them (or, so I thought!).

Then, one day Walter walked into my life and my life has never been the same. I wasn’t looking for him but he was looking for me. He had prayed and asked God to send me to him. I, on the other hand had said, “No way will I get married again.” I even jokingly told my friend she had found the only genuine man in the universe; that God must have broken the mold after he created him.

I was wrong. Into my life walked the man who has made me his queen. We’ve been married for seven years now and with each passing day our love is only getting deeper and stronger.

You know what? This may sound silly to some but — I believe in fairy tales again — knights on white horses and white picket fences where people live happily ever-after! All because I am special to someone.

And he is special to me. There are five things that are very important to me in a husband; my dear Walter has all of these qualities — and more: honesty, integrity, gentleness, sensitivity and a good humor.

(Thank you, God, for sending him to me!)

The other day my daughter said to me, “Mom, Walter has been so good for you. You are softer than I’ve ever known you to be.”

“I’ve always been a softy,” I laughed.

“No, you haven’t. You should see yourself like I see you. I’ve been watching and listening — you have pet names like baby-doll, sweetie-pie, darling — you never called anyone that before. And you touch and hug a lot. You’ve definitely changed and I like it.”

Love — true love does change one. I am blessed to have made that awesome discovery.

–Linda

When Walter and I decided to get married, we slipped away to Gatlinburg, TN — didn’t invite anyone to go with us. It was a second marriage for me and we were both 53 years old so we didn’t need any fanfare. We wanted to spend the rest of our lives together and didn’t need an audience to say our “I do’s.” I guess my head was somewhere in the clouds because I didn’t take very much money with me; and Walter had even less than I. (I discovered later that Walter rarely ever carries cash on him.) We arrived in Gatlinburg on Friday evening and were standing in line at the licensing bureau early Saturday morning. The line was a long one and while standing there we overheard someone say we’d have to have cash to buy the licenses — they didn’t accept credit cards or checks.

“Ooops!” I whispered to Walter. We both had a checkbook and a credit card — but alas, not much cash. Walter was suffering from extreme embarrassment as we dug through our pockets and counted out the money — yes! We had enough for the license!

“Don’t worry,” I told him. “We’ll just write a check, or pay the Officiant with the credit card.”

But it was not to be so. None of the Officiants we spoke with would take a check. None would take a credit card. We set out to find a bank that would cash a check only to discover that any bank that was open at all on Saturday in Gatlinburg had closed at noon! Our appointment with the Officiant was at 1:00 and we had little time and little knowledge of how to convert credit cards or checks into cash on short notice in a strange town.

After driving up and down the streets searching for an open bank for two hours I had the giggles (yes, I said giggles). I couldn’t stop laughing. I started singing, “We ain’t got a barrel of money, maybe we’re ragged and funny but we travel along, singing a song, side by side”, and Walter broke out with “Well, it’s another Saturday night and I ain’t got nobody — I got some money ’cause I just got paid.” Then we both started singing, “Even though we ain’t got money I’m so in love with you honey and everything’s gonna be alright” and we’d peel off into hilarious laughter. We needed $150 to pay the wedding officiant to marry us and we had about $20 between us!

Then, I saw a Wal-Mart Super Center across the street from the last bank we’d tried to get into and I had an idea. “Walter, I bought some stuff at Wal-Mart before we came up here — it’s in my suitcase. We could take it back, get the cash and get married.”

Walter didn’t like the idea, but through tears of laughter and silliness we decided to do it. We dug the stuff out of the suitcase and walked into the Wal-Mart, heading for the service desk.

Then I saw it — the most beautiful site in the Wal-Mart Super Center. “A bank!” I cried jubilantly. “Walter, there?s a bank and it?s open!” People were staring at us as we made a mad dash to the teller’s window. “Are you open?” I asked. “Yes, she said.” “Oh thank God!” I said fervently as we proceeded to start the financial transaction that would put cash into our pockets.

“Well, I’ve heard a lot of prayers,” the teller laughed, “but I don’t think anyone has ever thanked God that we were open.”

We finally made it to the Wedding Officiant’s house where the wedding vows were to be said. We were late — but we made it with cash in hand. We’ve laughed a lot about our strange wedding day. But we’ve never been sorry. It was a marriage made in heaven, sanctioned by the bank in the Wal-Mart Super Store.