Along Came Bruce

This blog will be a slight departure from some of my inspirational themes, but today marks the eighth anniversary of the day Bruce and I put our lives together. I’m sharing the story because sometimes I can’t quite believe the way it happened. All I know is that we both agree God showed up in a very big way.

Bruce and I knew each other for over twenty years, having worked on projects that linked our lives in the Christian book industry. In fact, one time he came out to help one of my clients in Colorado. Bruce lived in Nashville at the time. As we talked with my client, I remember asking God if this Bruce was the guy I was waiting for? He seemed like he might be. We’d often catch up at trade shows doing lunch or dinner and talking about our families and our lives and the work we do. Over time, our visits were more intentional, but we always went our separate ways and never talked about any relationship possibility. Every now and then, I’d wonder about it, but just let it go again. The next time we met, I’d tell him about my latest sad tale of internet dating, and he’d laugh, the way good friends do.

Things began to change when he invited me to interview for a job that he thought was perfect for my skill set. By that time, I was living in Florida, so the job moved me to Nashville. It turned out that I got an apartment right across from the street from where Bruce once owned a house. It was an odd tidbit of connection.  The new job meant we had to talk often since he was the Publisher, and I was the editorial VP. At one point he sent me flowers and chocolate covered strawberries for my birthday, and I thought, “Wow, we’re finally getting somewhere.” Of course, he told me later, he gave the same treat to his mother and his daughter. Yipes!

When he proposed to me, I was so surprised by his question that he had to ask me three times. The first time, I was sure I just misunderstood what he was saying. The second time, I blurted out, “Are you asking me? Are you really asking me?” He replied that he was trying to, so he then asked me a third time and I said, “yes” three times. He made me sign a note and date it that said I had agreed to the proposal. It was April 19th, and we hung the note on my refrigerator.  I’ll call that our deal points memo! The next few months were spent trying to create a wedding plan in the midst of Bruce doing a lot of traveling. After looking at many ideas from big church weddings to simple family affairs, we finally opted for this plan. It was Bruce’s idea.

He suggested we get married in the local park where there was a little gazebo and only invite a few close friends. I wasn’t clear how I felt about that until he took me to see the park. We were walking toward the gazebo when I saw something that made me cry. Bruce thought it meant his idea was just not working out. I then told him about my prayers. In my many years of being a single mother, I had prayed and prayed for the right life partner. I would always ask God to be sure that whoever the guy was, that I would know it was God’s choice for me. In my prayers, more times than I can even describe, I would be standing on a little wooden footbridge in a wedding dress. My groom would be standing on the other side of the bridge and Jesus would be standing with us. That visual happened over and over. The park had a little wooden footbridge that I would have to cross over to get to the gazebo to get married. It was the exact picture from my vision. I knew for sure that this was God’s design. It was incredible to me!

We had a simple wedding, but it was glorious. We agreed that from that day forward we would not take one another for granted, and we would not allow anything or anyone to come between us, because God had work for us to do together. Eight years isn’t enough, probably fifty years wouldn’t be enough, but I praise God that He gave both of us enough of what we needed from someone else. He gave us love that will indeed span the bridge of time. We are so grateful!

Happy Anniversary to my beloved Bruce, the amazing man God hand-picked for me!

Thanks for reading our story. Blessings to you and the ones you love.