My Living Out of Ecclesiastes 9:9

“” (Ecclesiastes 9:9).

By God’s grace, Solomon’s exhortation above has been my experience even before Annie and I met. Have I ever shared how we met?

In January of 2000, we were living in separate apartments with mutual friends. Not too long after she moved into her apartment, she and a couple of her roommates came over to my apartment to borrow by Ford Bronco that I was driving at the time.

When she walked into our apartment and I saw her for the 1^st time, it was not “love at first sight,” but it didn’t hurt that she “happened” to be wearing an OU shirt. You see, Annie had a youth pastor that was a die-hard OU fan and this was one of the fruits of his labors up in the Pacific Northwest. God bless him!

Anyway, a few months later, as we got to know each other more, we started dating.

Our dating was a blast it included everything from ditching our friends to go to Barnes and Noble, to eating lots of ice cream and Mexican food, and drinking slushies late at night.

That summer we got engaged and we had even more fun as we both were living in the county in WA where she grew up. We went to Victoria, British Columbia, had dinner at the restaurant on top of the Space Needle, ate lots of ice cream and Mexican food (yes, that’s a trend), went to more Starbucks than I can count, etc.

We got married the next January in 2001 and the fun continued. More Mexican food; more ice cream.

I have lost count of the places and states we have traveled. All the spontaneity we have enjoyed and the laughter that has accumulated in the almost-20 years we have been married echoes Ecclesiastes 9:9.

Annie would say she is not a very adventurous person, but to live with me, you kinda are by association.

Now, if I could just talk her into riding the scooters in downtown Wichita with me!