How the Coach Won My Heart - Part One

I began writing our story for the first time on June 22, 1994.
At the time, I had no idea how it would end. However, I knew something amazing was happening and I wanted to remember every detail. Somehow I knew that God was working in my life and I wanted to give Him the glory.

Truth is, as we celebrate 13 year together, today, my memory isn't sufficient to give you the full story - the amazing details - the tremendous miracle that our marriage is. So to keep it real, I'm referring back to my journals of those days and the Coach's much more accurate memory! Too many sleepless nights, pregnancies and the demands of motherhood have taken away some of the details from my mind. Gratefully, I wrote it all down. And it's been great fun for me to read about how it all happened and remember it, again. Because it's an incredible story!

The most amazing part is that the man you will learn about in these accounts, the man who pursued me, fought for me and won my heart, is the very man that I have the blessing of waking up to each and every day. The same man that shares the joy and the difficulty of raising eight wonderful kids with me. I live with the blessing of a man who is determined to obey God no matter what the cost. These are the things you will see in our story. The same things that make him *still* the man of my dreams!

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It all began one Wednesday afternoon in January of 1994. The phone rang at my parent's house and I answered it. It was a young man from their Sunday school class, asking for my dad. I attended the women's class that my mother taught and he attended the men's class that my dad taught with his brother and brother-in-law. I had no idea why he would be calling, but it didn't seem unusual. I gave him my dad's work number.

We had spoken once before - a month or so earlier - when he had attended the Christmas party for the class at our house. I had been surprised to see him there (it was all couples!). My best friend from out of town and I served at the party, but planned to skip out, since we didn't really fit in. But he showed up and hung around long enough to help us clean up afterwards. She and I talked about him, later, of course! He was really cute!

So the phone call didn't mean anything to me, at the time. But later that night my dad mentioned that the Coach had called him at work. I said I already knew that, because I'd spoken to him earlier. I was completely unprepared for what he said next. That he had called to ask permission to get to know me.

I was completely shocked. "You're kidding, right?" I couldn't imagine that a guy like that would be interested in me. He didn't know anything about me. We weren't even friends. And had only spoken, really, that one time. I did however, know who his family was. I was friends with his sister and sister-in-law (from the Sunday School class). More than that, though, I had SEEN him. He was incredibly handsome. Already out of college, teaching and coaching at a great school. I knew enough to know that he was quite the catch!

Dad didn't give him an answer. However, they met for lunch two days later. I found out (much later, of course) that during that lunch, my dad explained to him that he had very high standards in dating. That the Coach really needed to seek the Lord and determine if He was leading him in the direction to pursue a relationship with me.

You have to understand something. The Coach, unbelievably, had made the huge step of calling my dad in the first place. Before he even tried to be my friend! My dad isn't easy to approach. Especially for a young man who was interested in his daughter. I'd sent many a potential boyfriend his way, only to have them mowed down and never heard from again! They would SAY they would talk to my dad, but most of them never did.

When I heard my dad's report on the lunch and what he had told the Coach, I was horrified! How could he know if he wanted to make a commitment to this when we didn't even know each other? There was no way he'd call back. I was sure he had been sufficiently scared off, just like the rest.

About one week later, on a Saturday afternoon, our unlisted number rang. I, of course, answered, as I always did! And it was the Coach's voice on the other line. I ran upstairs as soon as my dad hung up the phone to see what he had said. Dad (surprised as the rest of us) told Mom and I that the Coach had prayed about it and felt like the Lord was leading him to pursue a relationship with me!

I don't think the three of us ever expected that answer. Or had thought about what would happen if it came.

Of course, the whole thing was very flattering. He didn't know me and yet was somehow drawn to me. I couldn't believe it all. It amazed me that he had the guts and determination to not only initiate a relationship with me, but hadn't been intimidated by my dad or his declaration of the seriousness of the prospect of befriending me. I was impressed. Tremendously impressed. And have I mentioned, yet, that he was really handsome?

It was all very incredible. There was only one problem. Secretly, behind my parent's backs and against their wishes, I was dating someone else. . .