Christy realized she was using her hands to demonstrate the act of taking off the old and putting on the new, pure, white gown offered by God. She tucked her hands behind her back and concluded her thought. “Then, when we reach the end of the long aisle of life, we will stand before Christ. He is the true Bridegroom. He loves us with all His heart and has been waiting for us to come to Him since the day we were born.”
Marti didn’t take her eyes off Christy. Tiny wrinkles began to crease her smooth forehead. Tears glistened in the corners of her eyes. “You believe this, don’t you, Christina?”
“Yes, with all my heart.”
Marti pressed her lips together as if she were commanding her words to stay locked inside.
Christy couldn’t believe how clearly she had communicated the message she had wanted to give to her aunt for years. She hadn’t planned the words or the imagery; it was simply there. Todd was the one who always had the great analogies.
Maybe Todd’s way of seeing things is beginning to rub off on me. Or maybe the more I trust God, the more He can use me just the way I am to speak the truth in love.
Marti reached over and covered Christy’s hand with hers. Christy noticed how cold and moist Marti’s hand felt. In a low voice, she said, “Don’t give up on me, Christina. I am very close.”
Just as Christy’s mom was about to enter the kitchen, Marti let go of Christy’s hand.
Christy leaned closer to her aunt. “I won’t give up on you, Aunt Marti. And neither will God. He is the relentless lover, and you are His first love. He won’t give up because He wants you back.”
Marti turned to walk away. “I need to put on some lipstick, and then we must leave for our appointment with the photographer.”
“Is she okay?” Mom asked as Marti disappeared.
Christy’s face was lit up with a huge smile as she nodded. “More than okay. She’s great.”
“Do you want to have a quick look at this?”
Mom pulled the bag off the skirt to the wedding gown, and Christy released a long “Oooh.”
“I think it turned out real nice, don’t you?”
“Mom, it’s perfect. I love the way the folds add fullness without making it poof out.” Christy held up the bodice to the skirt. “It’s going to be beautiful. Thank you so much, Mom! I love it.”
“Very nice,” Marti concurred when she reappeared. She seemed unaffected by the intimate conversation she and Christy had just shared. “It’s simple and sweet. Just like you. Have you given any thought to what undergarments would work best with that, Christy? I think we should add lingerie shopping to our list for this afternoon.”
Christy had done plenty of shopping with her aunt over the years. Lingerie shopping wasn’t something they had attempted yet, and Christy wasn’t sure how she felt about shopping with her mom and aunt for fancy underwear.
“But first we must get to the photographer’s.” Marti scurried them to the door.
They met with the professional photographer, looked through dozens of albums, and selected a plan that they all seemed happy with. Christy thought the photo package was outrageously expensive, but Marti said it was one of the parts of the wedding she and Uncle Bob were covering, so Christy shouldn’t worry her pretty little head about it.
“What matters is that you hire a quality professional who captures the look you want,” Marti said.
Christy thought of the picture she had seen of her parents’ wedding on the hallway wall at her grandmother’s. She doubted if a professional who charged extravagant fees had taken the picture. Yet the photo captured the mood of the day and the delight of the parents and happy couple.
“I’d also like to have a bunch of instant cameras on all the tables at the reception,” Christy said. “That way the guests can snap pictures of each other, and we’ll have a lot of candid shots for our scrapbook.”
“We can do that,” Marti said as she drove down Pacific Coast Highway on her way to a restaurant she wanted them to try. She explained that the chef was available for catering weddings.
Christy suggested the chef at The Dove’s Nest, but Marti shrugged off the idea. Then Christy reminded her aunt that the reception was being held at Rancho Corona, and it made more sense to have a caterer located close to the school. Marti said that caterers were used to traveling all over southern California, and the location didn’t matter.
Christy dropped the subject. It wasn’t worth arguing over now, after they had peacefully agreed on so many other topics that day. She also felt a new sense of responsibility toward her aunt. Marti had willingly listened as Christy presented the Gospel to her that morning with the wedding analogy. Christy didn’t want to invalidate any of that by being disagreeable with her aunt, who was doing so much to help with the wedding.
At the end of their full day, Christy decided to spend the night at Bob and Marti’s and go to church with her uncle in the morning. She called Todd to tell him she wouldn’t see him until she returned to her dorm room Sunday afternoon. She only got the voice mail again. She missed Todd. It would be so nice to feel his arms around her and to tell him about their cake having raspberry filling and the details of the photographer’s wedding package.
She wouldn’t tell him about the flowers or her veil. Or the beautiful assortment of lingerie Marti and her mom had bought for her that afternoon. Those would all be surprises.
Todd didn’t call on Sunday after she returned to her dorm, but that didn’t surprise her. He probably was exhausted after the backpacking trip and had a lot of work to do at the church sorting out the gear and putting things away.
While they had been shopping on Saturday, Marti had asked Christy if she had any idea what she would buy Todd as a wedding gift. Marti insisted the bride and groom traditionally gave each other gifts. The first thing that popped out of Christy’s mouth was, “I’m giving Todd a cell phone so he won’t be so hard to get ahold of.” She had said it as a joke, but now it was beginning to seem like a good idea. They could get matching his-and-her phones.
Katie meandered into their dorm room at seven o’clock that evening with another bright bouquet of mixed flowers and a plastic pitcher full of water.
“He loves me,” Katie said simply.
Christy smiled. “Did Rick tell you he loved you?”
“No, he just keeps showing me that he does. I was a grump all weekend because I’m so behind on school-work. I haven’t finished my economics paper yet; so instead of playing raquetball like we had planned, Rick and I spent the afternoon at the library gathering all the info and statistics. Then he gave me these flowers and thanked me for a wonderful day.”
Katie adjusted the flowers in the plastic vase. She seemed serene and dreamy in her relationship with Rick. That settledness was in sharp contrast to the way she had flown into their room on a caffeine high several months ago and asked Christy if it might be possible Katie was in love.
“You know what? I have a feeling this guy isn’t going to give up on me.” The tone of Katie’s voice reminded Christy of her aunt when she had asked Christy not to give up on her. The comparison between a forever love relationship with God and a bride and groom making a commitment to each other seemed stronger than ever to Christy.
That’s how it is with relentless lovers, Christy thought. They don’t give up, do they? In the same way Rick is wooing you, Katie, Jesus has been wooing Aunt Marti. And I don’t think either of them is going to give up. Ever.
15 With her flowers perfectly arranged on her desk, Katie stretched out on what she called the surfin’ sofa. “So how was your weekend, Christy? Did you make a lot of plans at Marti’s?”
Christy excitedly gave Katie a rundown of all the details. She told Katie about her aunt’s receptiveness as Christy talked with her about the Lord. She also told Katie about the flowers and the head wreath and how the flowers were going to come from Maui. Then she pulled two boxes out from under her bed and showed Katie her beautiful new lingerie.
“I’ve never ow
ned anything like this,” Christy said. “I love it. And it actually was fun shopping for it with my mom and my aunt. It made me feel like one of the girls, if that makes sense.”
“What about the doctor?” Katie asked.
“What doctor?”
“Have you made an appointment yet with a gynecologist to get checked out?”
“No, I need to do that. It’s on my list. I’m going to the same one my mom goes to in Escondido. She gave me the number a few weeks ago. I just haven’t called yet.”
“How do you feel about all that?” Katie lowered her voice. “The honeymoon, I mean. Are you ready for, you know . . . everything.”
Christy felt like shouting, “Yes! Yes! A thousand times yes!” But she nodded calmly and simply said, “Yes, I’m ready.”
“Do you guys want to have kids right away?” Katie asked.
Christy realized that even though they had talked about how many children they wanted and about giving them Hawaiian middle names, they hadn’t discussed the specifics of when.
“We’re still talking that through,” Christy said.
“Have you and Todd had any huge arguments?”
Christy wasn’t sure where Katie was coming up with these random questions. “Yes, of course.”
“Rick and I had a huge fight yesterday. It took us about an hour and a half to talk it through and come to an agreement. I think it was good for both of us, though. I mean, if Rick wanted to walk away after seeing me at my worst, that would have been the moment. If he was going to give up on me, it probably would have been yesterday.”
“Sounds like your relationship is getting pretty real,” Christy said.
“Yes, it is. It’s getting real.” Katie looked at Christy and then gave her short red hair a little flip. “And I think I like it that way.”
On Monday afternoon Todd called Christy at the campus bookstore where she was working. “Hey, what are you doing tonight?” he asked.
She had to smile. They hadn’t spoken in three days since he had left on the backpack trip. Still, he didn’t start their conversation with a normal “Hi, how are you.” Although Todd never had started phone conversations with “Hi, how are you.” For a while it was, “Hey, how’s it going?” Now it was just a leap right to the point.
Christy decided to answer him with the same forthrightness he had asked the question. “Homework.”
“Homework, huh? What’s that?”
“Oh, be nice!” Christy turned away from the cash register since she didn’t have any customers at the moment. “Have you already forgotten what it’s like for the rest of us who aren’t yet college graduates?”
“Yes.” Lowering his voice, he added, “I miss you, Kilikina.”
“I miss you more,” she countered.
“Not possible,” he said. “Hey, do you think you can ignore your homework for one night and go out to dinner with me?”
“You tell me when and where, and I’ll be there.”
“Don’t laugh,” Todd said. “But I’d like to go to The Golden Calf and eat at our table by the window. I miss meeting you there.”
“Okay, what time?”
“Five-fifteen if you want me in my painting clothes. Six o’clock if you want me clean.”
“I’ll take 5:15,” Christy said.
Eager to make sure no one snatched their table, Christy left the bookstore immediately when she got off at five. She went directly to their table and waited only a few minutes before she spotted Todd coming toward her. It was all she could do not to jump up, dash across the cafeteria, and throw her arms around her beloved. He was wearing his grungy paint clothes and a smile on his face broad enough and bright enough to start a small forest fire.
One thing was certain. His presence lit a blazing fire in the hearth of her soul. She rose to greet him with a kiss and a tight hug.
“Good thing this paint is dry,” Todd said.
Christy pulled away and checked her clothes. Todd was right. His speckled work clothes hadn’t transferred any paint onto her.
“Have you already eaten?” Todd asked.
“No, I came a little early to wait for you.”
“I’ll get your food for you,” he offered. “What would you like?”
“Anything. I’m not even hungry. I just want to talk with you.”
“We have a lot to talk about, don’t we. I’ll be right back.”
Christy watched Todd move through the line, greeting friends and getting their food. She thought again about the similarities between having a relationship with the Lord and falling in love. The parallels seemed to be everywhere, now that she was watching for them.
What would my relationship with the Lord be like if I set a time to meet with Him every day? Would I show up early just because I couldn’t wait to talk with Him?
After Todd returned to the table, Christy said she wanted to pray for them before they ate. With a full heart, she thanked God for Todd and for the chance to be together during their busy week. She told Jesus she wanted to grow more in love with Him so that she would find a fire lit in the hearth of her soul every day and that she would meet with Him there with an open heart.
“Amen!” Todd said.
“As you wish,” she said to conclude the prayer. Looking up, she smiled at Todd.
He smiled back.
“I wish I had understood love sooner,” Christy said. “I wish I had known when I was younger what it meant to be in love like this. If I had, I think my relationship with the Lord would be so much deeper than it is now. I just didn’t understand.”
Todd nodded. “Hey, I talked to your uncle today, and he said Marti is really opening up to the Lord. He said you had a talk with her on Saturday that she told him about.”
Christy gave Todd a summary of what had gone on all weekend. He told her about the backpacking trip. She told him about going to The Dove’s Nest on Friday with Sierra and that reminded her of Rick’s message about the tux shop.
“I thought I told you I was going to ask Rick to be one of the groomsmen,” Todd said.
“No, I think I would have remembered if you had. It means we now have three groomsmen and only two bridesmaids.”
“Four.” Todd speared a piece of broccoli with his fork. “Doug, my dad, Rick, and David.”
“David? My brother? When did you ask David to be a groomsman?”
“A couple of weeks ago. I know we talked about that one.”
“I remember us talking about whether or not we wanted to have a candlelighter, and how David could do that.”
“Right,” Todd said.
“But then we decided we didn’t want a candle-lighter because we were getting married outside,” Christy said.
“Right. So I asked David to be a groomsman. He was pretty happy about it. I think he’ll feel like he’s included in the wedding more, don’t you?”
So that was Todd’s logic. That was the way his mind worked. Deep down, he was considering the welfare of others. David would feel included. That was important to Todd.
Christy knew then that for the rest of her life, no matter how organized she would be, the unpredictable factor of Todd’s logic would always come into play.
For the next ten minutes, they discussed what Christy labeled the “random factor.” She knew this quality of Todd’s would be with them on the long journey ahead, and she was determined to make peace with it. She gave Todd examples of when it already had affected their relationship, such as when he stopped under the freeway in Carlsbad to share his breakfast with the homeless man. Todd didn’t see his pattern of thinking as anything unusual, but he said he would try to remember to run decisions past Christy before he acted on them.
“So, do you think you can live with it?” Todd asked. “Me, I mean. My logic. This ‘random factor.’ Will I drive you crazy?”
“Probably,” Christy said with a grin. “No more than I’ll drive you crazy with my tidiness issues.”
“I think we’re getting better at this, don’t you?
We’re learning how to keep each other balanced.” Todd returned her wide smile.
Christy noticed he had tiny flecks of beige paint across his forehead and a small piece of broccoli stuck between his front two teeth.
Okay, this is starting to get pretty real here!
Christy motioned to Todd he had something in his teeth and remembered one of their earliest dates. They had taken Uncle Bob’s tandem bike to Balboa Island, and Todd had bought her an ice cream dipped in chocolate. On the bike ride back, the chocolate had somehow smeared across her face, but Todd hadn’t said anything to her, even though she found out after he left that she looked ridiculous.
It wouldn’t be like that now. We’ve come a long way in our relationship. Todd would tell me if I had chocolate on my face. Or broccoli in my teeth. We’re a team. A good team. We balance each other, just like he said.
“Did I tell you about the trip to Mexico this weekend?” Todd asked.
“What trip to Mexico?”
“Several of the men from church want to go down to work on the orphanage. They plan to leave Thursday night and come back Saturday night. Do you want to go with us?”
Christy tried to remember what she had just told herself about their being a good team, but the thoughts escaped her. “Todd, I’m swamped this weekend. I have classes Friday, and I work until six. There’s no way I can change things around to go to Mexico with you!”
Then, because she knew she needed to express everything she was thinking, she tried in a kind way to say, “You realize, don’t you, that you’re leaving for the second weekend in a row?”
“I know. That’s why I hoped you could come with us. I can get out of it, I think.”
“It sounds like you should go,” Christy said.
“What about us? What about our wedding plans?”
“I can work on everything. We have . . . what? Seven or eight more weekends after this one.”