Today I Changed My Name

                         He has called me for over four years. At first, and for a long time, he was a friend, a Christian in prison in need of connection to his boy, and encouragement and someone to listen. And he  returned the favor.  I knew his son and loved him, so he felt a kinship and gratitude, I imagine, and, I also knew, he just liked to talk with me. I liked talking with him too. When he wouldn't call on a few occasions, I wrote to find out if everything was okay. Yes, it was fine, but he hadn't been able to call due to circumstances he couldn't control. There are a lot of those in prison. We wrote one another. We cared for each other's hearts and spirits. We shared wisdom with each other.
          And then something changed.  He tells me I was always in love with him. I laugh when he says this. Who knows? Maybe he's right. He asked me to be his girlfriend. This is a term that didn't seem to fit. I'm no girl, and we were, by then, more than friends. I gave arguments, reasons why it wouldn't work. But he argued back. Reasons why it would work. I said I'd pray about it, thinking to give myself time to think it over, and probably reject it.
        But then the miraculous happened. That still small voice said "This is for you. From Me. He's my blessing to care for you in Mexico" where I'd been headed for years. As it turns out, so was he.
                   Really? Could it be true? The more I prayed, the more God said yes. Through people, and through His Word.
           So I sent him my picture. And when we spoke, he told me that when he saw it, he said, "Man, I wish she was my wife."
                Wow. From friend and Christian sister, to girlfriend, and then "wife" in a few weeks.
No, not a few weeks. Several years of talking, laughing, sharing joys and some griefs, and now this amazing love.
          I asked my pastors, expecting them to say..."No way. He's in prison. You're older than him. This will never work." Instead my pastor said, "you'll know when you meet him face to face." And I did know.
          And one spiritual adviser after another, one family member after another, gave us their blessings. "We just want you to be happy."
             And that led to today, when he gave me his name and we exchanged hearts forever.
             Lord, how could I be so blessed in this life? I thought rewards were for heaven, and yet here in this world, You gave me the love of a lifetime. March 26, 2012