TBT

My wife grew up in Massachusetts, for the most part, and I grew up in Eastern Maine, for the whole part. She attended Messiah College in Grantham, Pennsylvania, where she met a woman from Baltimore with whom she struck up a friendship that has flourished to this day. I attended Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, Georgia, where I met a man from St. Louis with whom I struck up a friendship that has flourished to this day. (In truth, I have several friends who match that description–met at Covenant, are from St. Louis, etc.!) Those two particular friends, though, have a significant role in our lives that I’ll get to in a moment or two.

Now, being as old as I am, or as distractible as I am, I’ve forgotten where I was headed with this post, so you might just have to bear with me while I try to find my way. I remember one of the points I intended to make, and I recall a subpoint that presented itself, but my main thought has gone right out of my head, likely never to return.

The friend that my wife made was from a church in Baltimore that belonged to the Orthodox Presbyterian Church denomination, formed in 1936 as a response to the loss of fidelity to the Bible as the inerrant Word of God in the mainline Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). After college, her friend invited my wife to go with her to Japan to serve the OPC as a missionary associate, a lay worker that assists full time missionaries. Laurel, who did not grow up in the OPC or any church like it (but did grow up in a Christian family) agreed to go for a year, and arrived in Japan in 1992. After a year, her OPC friend left, but Laurel stayed.

Like her friend, I grew up in the OPC. In 1987, my sister Judi and her husband Paul went to Japan as missionary associates for three years. When I graduated from college in 1993, the Lord provided the opportunity for me to follow in their footsteps, and in early September that year, I arrived in northern Japan. The next day, I met Laurel.

Her OPC college friend, Gail, takes a little tongue-in-cheek credit for Laurel and me meeting. While that’s cute, Laurel and I are directly responsible for Gail meeting her husband. The college friend I referenced earlier was pining for love for someone living in Baltimore that had turned down his affections, and he had written to me about it. I was in Japan with my new bride, Laurel. He had a witty way about writing, and my bride and I enjoyed his letters so much that when he lamented losing out on a “blonde from Baltimore,” we turned to each other and said, “WE know a blonde in Baltimore!”

We introduced them to each other via email. Their correspondence began, and a year later, they got married. They’ve been married 20 years now, and remain dear friends with us.

I have no idea what made me think of this Throw Back on this Thursday, but there you have it. That’s enough for one day. My brother and his wife, and two of their sons and one son’s fiancee are in town and I need to see them.