I didn’t expect to see Tim at all, but God had other plans.

My good friend Gwen and I stood on the sidewalk in front of the high school. We were waiting on our school bus that was running late due to mechanical problems. All of our friends who had vehicles had already left. Or so we thought.

A 1963 Chevrolet truck pulled up in front of us and stopped. It was Tim, who is now my husband. He talked to us for a few seconds. Suddenly, Gwen literally shoved me into the passenger door. I slammed into it with a loud thump. Tim gave me his sweet smile that made my heart melt and asked, “Why don’t I drive you home?”

I climbed inside and waved goodbye to Gwen. Yes, we left her standing on the sidewalk, but I don’t think she minded too much since she was laughing.

When we pulled into my driveway, I didn't ask him inside since my mom was at work. We talked for a few minutes. To be honest, I was stalling to see if he would ask me for my phone number or to ask me out for a date. It was a Friday after all.

He didn’t ask for either one.

Even though I smiled and waved as he drove off, I was so disappointed. Was I wrong about how he felt about me? I thought he liked me as much as l liked him. Maybe he just wanted to be friends. If so, then I had also misunderstood God when He told me there was something special about Tim.

As we say around here, I wasn’t going to “waller” in doubt and disappointment. I turned on the TV and immediately began to clean house. It helped to get my mind off of how I was feeling.

Around 7:30 that evening the phone rang. When I answered, I was so surprised to hear Tim’s voice. After we talked for a few minutes, I asked him how he got my number. What I really wanted to ask was why he didn’t ask for it earlier, but I didn’t want to chance upsetting him.

First, he called a mutual friend: Kathy. She didn’t know my number, but my uncle was a friend of her family, so she gave Tim my uncle’s phone number. Tim immediately called my uncle, who couldn’t think of our phone number, so he gave Tim my Mamaw Jo’s phone number. Then he called her and she gave him my phone number. For years after that, she joked that she shouldn’t have given him my number.

My disappointment was replaced with excitement. He went through all that trouble to get in touch with me. And yes, he asked me out on a date for the next day.

“And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her.” Genesis 29:20 (KJV)

Did you know many people say love is a verb? It’s not just a thing or concept. It’s not just words. It is expressed by our actions. What you actually do tells a lot more about how you really feel than by what you say.

An awesome example of love can be found in John 3:16.

After we had been dating a while, I asked Tim why he didn’t ask for my phone number the first time he drove me home. He said he meant to, but he was just too nervous. He didn’t think of it until after he had left. I was thrilled that I made him nervous.

I still do.