They say “third times a charm.” I do not know who “they” are but they are right. It took two fits and starts before the charm of love settled within our hearts. Looking back from now’s perspective; it is evident that it was meant to be; that the Lord had locked our paths in an intertwined journey which was irrevocable. But I get ahead of myself.
Our whole love affair began with a journey. Kim Wells and I were on the same trip up Interstate 35 from Austin to Fort Worth with our college group for a special conference. However, we did not know each other. We were in separate vehicles. We came from two different kinds of lives. The group decided to stop for lunch. It was at Taco Bell in Waco, Texas of all places that I met the love of my life. Immediately I began to flirt; and flirt hard. I flirted all weekend. I flirted with her during conferences, between sessions, at meals, before bed, and in the hallway. But when the trip ended and we returned to Austin so did the flirting. She was an artist and her world might as well been a million miles from mine, locked away in the library stacks.
The second time we met was at my initiative; and it was a pretty poor one. I couldn’t stop thinking about her. Nothing would ease the thoughts of her as I stewed for two months in my infatuation fever. These were the old days before internet and Facebook, so I hunted her down the old fashioned way—the phone book. Sadly, there were three other students in this university of 50,000 people with the same name. I called the first. She was a law student. Wrong one. The second was a business student. Wrong one. Finally, third times the charm and it was the Kim Wells, the beautiful artist who was my Taco Bell princess. I asked her out, she hesitantly agreed, for I perceive she barely remembered me. I took her to a basketball game with our in-state rival. After the game, I took the path of humility and told her, “Look, I took the initiative this time. If you want to see me again give me a call. I don’t want to bother you.” She took that as arrogance and promptly forgot me. Something, however must have stuck in my mind for I kept the ticket stub. I still have it.
That was March, 1992. The third time we met was absolute destiny. September of that same year we spotted each other, at the same time, at church. It was a large church with thousands of people in a city with hundreds of thousands of people and many, many churches. In this great crowd our eyes met as we sat three pews from each other, quite by chance. I moved up and sat by her. When the service was over, I walked her to her car; asked her on another date for later that week. I called her every single day. I have talked to her every single day since. We were married in the summer of the following year.
Each year, each day, each minute gets progressively sweeter. There is nothing as beautiful as love; and no relationship between two humans as fulfilling as marriage.
- Jamie Greening
- Jamie Greening
