Kansas Summer

A Kiss Ten Years Waiting

Jenna and I arrive early Saturday at the old Baptist church in downtown Goodland.  We only have to knock on the door once before Reverend Shirley opens the door in his worn blue jeans and plaid shirt with a smile on his face.

            “Come in, come in!” he greets us warmly, closing the creaky door behind us.  “Coffee?”

            “Yes, please,” Jenna replies, tugging on my arm, and beaming up at me.

            “Would you please follow me into my study?”  We nod and follow the pastor down a side of pews.  I’m sure that Jenna and I both are having flashbacks to when we would sit in church and pass messages back and forth during sermon.  I feel a plyful squeeze in my left hand.

            We presently arrive in the office of our aging minister.  He takes a seat in his large chair behind his magnificent mahogany desk and bids us to take the two seats in front of him.  As we sit, he steeples his hands and lets out a long sigh.  Jenna and I hold our breaths.

            “It’s a miracle that you two are sitting in front of me,” he begins.  “I do believe that it is God’s will that you two found each other after so long and far apart, there’s just no explanation.  From what you’ve told me, the odds are just too absurd for it to be called anything but.  However,” he tells us, shaking his finger, “I must stress that even though you’ve come this far together, it doesn’t mean that marriage will be a breeze.  It just means that you have coped with problems.  It’s not just you either; all marriages have problems.  Jobs are lost, arguments happen, and so do kids.  Kids are a whole different story; the beauty of having children is that no matter what you do, it is still their own decision who to become.  People think that just because they raise their children in a loving, Christian family, they will grow to be the same.  I beg to differ.  Children are influenced by their parents, but never molded.” 

            The old man removes his glasses and sets them on the table.  “I really want to see you grow to be a strong couple.  Out of the hundreds of people in this town, you probably are the two strongest people I know.  You know that there are challenges in this world, and you’ve already faced much of the worst of the world.  Marriage will flip your world upside down; not only will you have to contend with the world, but with each other.  I want you to be prepared for whatever life throws at you.  There are good people in this town who you can go to if you are struggling, including me, but remember that there is only one rock that marriage is built on, and that is God.  Trusting in God doesn’t mean that you are protected from problems, but that you have a strong foundation that will anchor you if life starts to attack you.  Dwell in God and His Word and you will stand against any problem in the world.  He has a plan for you, and no matter what happens, you can trust that He will have you in His hand.”

            The next two weeks are full of anticipation and excitement.  Jenna spends most of her time with Sarah and baby, who stay in Goodland while Colby goes back to Leavenworth, ut not before promising to return for the wedding, doing shopping and whatnot.  I’m not without a mate either; Brandon takes two weeks off of his work; being a pilot for a small cargo airline in the northeast.

            “I gotta start somewhere,” he tells me, “In a year or two, I should have enough experience to get hired by a regional airline.”

            We take a couple of flights in his Arrow—he flew it all the way from Albany to Goodland—to pass some of the time.  I find that not a lot of my piloting skills have gone by the wayside; I can still nail a crosswind landing on the grass runway at Renner Field.

            Brandon and I don’t only go flying; he and I write invitations, make Wal-Mart runs for “basic decorations” (Jenna insists on doing most of the decorating), and helping the Jacksons on their farm.  Despite Brandon never touching a horse in his life, he adjusts surprinsingly well, helping me paint fences, replace barbed wire, and redig post holes.  I ask him how he likes it.