125,000 Houses

 

Ask thee a sign of the Lord thy God;

ask it either in the depth, or in the height above.

—      Isaiah 7:11

 

 

Once upon a time there was a princess who was blonde and beautiful. She got a "5" on the Advanced Placement Calculus test. She could hit a powerful drive with a graceful little fade around tall trees using her hybrid club, which made the other ladies in her golf league go "Wow!"

 

Despite her beauty, intelligence and great golf swing, this princess was the kind who was not that much into herself. She was reserved and ladylike. She followed the Queen Mother's command: "Don't chase boys."

 

As she and her friends hit their 20s, the friends all started getting married. One wedding. Two. Forty-seven. The bridesmaid's dresses were crowding out the regular clothes in the princess' royal closet. But that was OK. She followed the Queen Mother's other command: "You are complete in yourself, with Jesus living in your heart; just trust Him, and see what He brings your way."

 

Or, more specifically, who.

 

One day, she attended a birthday party for a close friend. She met a smiling young prince named John. They stayed after everybody else left, and played pool. She won.

 

One year later to the day, he won. That's because the prince got down on his knees and asked her to marry him. He offered a royal-size rock, and that winning smile. She was surprised, she wept, she said yes, and then she sat down and ate a piece of the chocolate cake that he had arranged for, along with roses and candles, as secondary inducements, just in case.

 

He is, you see, the type who plans ahead. He is a computer engineer. Oh, sure, her blonde beauty was compelling, and he loved it that she could beat him at golf, pool and just about every other game. But what sealed the deal, it seems, is that "5" on the A.P. Calc test. To a brainy computer guy, that's like . . . well, not exactly porno . . . but it's attractive.

 

Turns out the prince had humbly and manfully asked for her hand a whole month in advance. So the King knew. But the Queen did not. That is because of the Queen's enormous communications army. It would have spilled the beans to three-quarters of the civilized world before the princess even knew what was up. But the prince's advance planning and respect, along with well-thought-out and sensible plans for how he would love, honor and cherish the precious princess, won him big points with the King.

 

The very next weekend after the engagement, the royal family invited the prince to a beloved lake in southern Missouri for boating, tubing and revelry. He proceeded to make everyone's jaw drop by persuading the normally-reticent princess to jump with him off about a 20-foot cliff into the water. Lover's Leap! She was literally . . . taking the plunge.

 

 

That's them, holding hands at the start of their leap at the top,

with the prince in the red trunks.

 

 

To celebrate, a bottle of champagne was smuggled onboard the boat. We all toasted the happy couple - John and Neely.

 

 

 

There's John's mile-wide smile and Neely, a true beauty even with no makeup . . .

not wearing the ring in this picture, because, with typical prudence,

she didn't want to lose it in the lake.

 

 

The morning after the engagement, the princess came over to see how long it would take for the Queen Mother to notice the ring. Fifteen minutes! Slow learner. Tears and big whoops ensued. I guess the ladies in her golf league literally swarmed the princess, to get a look at the ring. As they do with her golf drives, they all went, "Wow!"

 

The prince has further endeared himself to the King another way: during the weekend at the lake, water mysteriously started spurting out of the boat's dashboard . . . but this future son-in-law calmly used his engineering skills to slip under there and fix it, in a flash. Prince Charming Doubles as a Handyman! Sign That Boy UP!!!

 

He also has endeared himself to the Queen by showing that he has some bigtime writing chops. Check out this website that he developed and will update as the plans unfold for their wedding:

 

www.neelyandjohn.com

 

The King and Queen have no doubt that these two are going to live happily ever after. They have a lot in common, after all:

 

§         They both have mothers with movie-star good looks named Susan.

 

§         They both are the second children in families of four.

 

§         They both have three sisters.

 

§         They both were honor students.

 

§         They both played sports: college football for John, and high-school golf and soccer for Neely.

 

§         They both like to run: John has completed the Boston Marathon a few times, and encouraged Neely to complete a couple of half-marathons.

 

§         They both are Christian believers, and that's the best commonality of all. When the Queen Mother noticed, after they had been dating for a while, that the princess was going around with a smile all the time, and that the young prince was acting totally whipped and twitterpated, the queen suggested that the princess pray for wisdom, to see if maybe he was "the one."

 

Gradually, some facts emerged that pretty much pointed that way . . . WITH AN ARROW 42 MILES TALL!!!!

 

For example:

 

Everyone always wants to know how we came up with Neely's name. Well, it's her paternal grandmother's maiden name. We loved those relatives, so we named our baby girl after them, and then she turned out to be just like them!

 

Now get this: John's last name is Miller. Eureka: that is Neely's MATERNAL grandmother's maiden name! Those relatives are just as dear to us as the Neelys have always been. The current Miller generation is all girls, though, so the Miller name won't be carried forward. But now it will! I can just see the Miller side of our family up in heaven, jubilantly raising their harps and going, "Woot woot!!!"

 

Later, it was revealed that when John's mother learned he was dating a girl named Neely, she went, "Hmmmm." Her husband's office manager's son is named Jon, and his wife is named Nealie. HMMM!

 

If all this doesn't seem like a sign to you, how's this:

 

About a year and a half ago, John took advantage of the recent government aid for first-time homeowners. He got a great deal on the purchase of a beat-up old duplex. It has good "bones" and is in a very nice, stable, midtown neighborhood. So it is a good candidate for investment and remodeling.

 

Using his engineering and handyman skills, John is fixing it up, starting with the kitchens and bathrooms. He already has renters on the other side, and is slowly transforming it from an ugly duckling into a swan.

 

After they had been dating for a while, Neely started telling her family a little more about John. She mentioned his work on his duplex, which he had bought and moved into several months before they met. She told her paternal grandparents roughly where it was, and how you could look up the street and see Washington School - where her own father, the King, once attended.

 

The grandparents were intrigued. Hmm! That sounds close to their old stomping grounds!

 

What's the closest intersection? Neely told them.

 

Does the house face north or south? She told them.

 

Is there a set of really skinny, tall steps right at the front door, with a deck off the kitchen, and the washer-dryer in the garage?

 

Yes, yes and yes, Neely told them.

 

Hunhhh?!?

 

The grandparents recited the exact address.

 

That's right, Neely responded. How did you know?

 

BECAUSE THEY LIVED IN THAT EXACT, SAME DUPLEX BACK IN THE LATE 1950's!!! THAT'S HOW THEY KNEW!!!

 

They were newlyweds, with a darling little toddler . . . who grew up to be . . . the King, Neely's dad! The only reason they moved away is that Neely's dad got a baby brother, and there just wasn't room for a family of four.

 

No wonder John had been working feverishly all summer to finish the kitchen remodeling. He wanted to propose to her in that house - where she will live after they're married - without all the construction dust around. Neely had been a litsy-bit annoyed with him in the month of July, for spending every moment of his free time working on his home construction project. Once he proposed, she understood.

 

As for the coincidence, we called the county assessor's office, and found out that there are 125,000 houses in our county. Out of 125,000 houses, what are the odds that John would own Neely's dad's childhood home?!?

 

I mean, it was more than just a sign, considering how they obviously felt about each other. It was so, so . . . DUH!!!!!

 

 

 

 

All I know is . . . when you trust God to show you who to love, and how to love, it may feel like a leap off a 20-foot cliff . . . and you may encounter some bumps and whitewater along the way . . . but just trust Him, and hang on. Hitch first to him, and then to each other. It's going to be a fun, fun ride.

 

Join us in toasting the prince and princess, and wishing them a long and (hint, hint) fruitful life together.

 

And let's toast the King of the Universe, the incomparable Matchmaker. He knows the hearts of all His princes and princesses. He knows how to "engineer" love for each and every one of us, and exactly how to let us know when someone is "the one."

 

No wonder. He's the One Who created happily-ever-after'ing in the first place. †