The Proposal By Jimmy
Terry
Last summer at a youth camp I was
the spiritual life director. Part of my duties required me to be
the evening vespers speaker and early morning as well. I was also
in charge of the service and the special groups to sing. This is
when I met a group called Fruit of the Spirit from my alma mater Anderson
University. Joyce was one of the persons who caught my eye,
but not in the sense of possibilities between us since I did not know anything
about her.
During a sound check, I heard her
sing while I was walking down the aisle of the huge auditorium. I
stopped literally in my tracks, turned around, and thought to myself, "could
this be the one?" Although I thought Whitney Houston stopped by,
I knew I had to keep my cool, and not get any hopes too high. I was in
this group before that has had a tradition for over 20 years of producing
married couples. My thinking simply was how would I know she is not
seeing someone already in the group. Little did I know that this
tradition was about to prove true. This was the first day of camp
and we had six more days to go.
I saw Joyce and the rest of the
group during the week at breakfast, lunch and dinner. In observation
mode, I wanted to see if she was dating anyone in the group.
She was more social than described as dating someone so I could only assume
she was not available to save face. During the eating periods I would
wait for her to show up and take the duty of filling the water cups so
I could see her a little closer and get some eye contact. One night
a friend of mine had a car and we decided to go into town and eat an the
Eat and Park diner. Joyce and the group also came to the diner and
we all sat at the table. During dinner, Joyce sat at an angle across
from me, to my right. While we ate and laughed, I felt something
like someone's leg up against mine. At first, I thought it was the guy
next to me. Then I realized it was her leg and I was in heaven. Suddenly
an arrow punctured cloud nine and sent me hurtling down quick. Joyce yelled
out, "I am sooo sorry rubbing up against your leg like that, I thought
it was the table!" In addition, the friend next to me who is very
comical and outspoken said he thought he was in heaven (paraphrase). I
began to relate to a 100% wool sweater in a dryer (slowly shrinking).
After that extended night another
came and I remember seeing Joyce with the kids at the swimming pool.
I loved the way she took time out to help some of the little kids swim.
I new somehow I had found my connection. Aside from the usual gazing
and waiting at the water hole, the last day of camp was the decisive factor.
I thought I was going back home to New York and accept another year of
camp as here today and gone tomorrow. I was sitting during breakfast
and Joyce asked me how many kids I had. I told her that I was not
married to have kids. At that moment, she told me that she wished
that she had known that Monday. Bells and chimes began to go off upstairs.
We actually did not talk after that statement and silently found some opportunities
to hang around each other later that day, but still no in depth conversing.
Then one night the group wanted
to go for pizza and bowling, but one member was upset and did not
want to go. She then proceeded to walk around the dark camp that
night, but only along the lit road, that made a full circle around the
camp. I was going to walk with her to make sure all was okay.
At the same time, Joyce said Let's talk as we walked staggered a good fifty
feet behind the other member. After one lap, we sat in an old rocking
park bench on the hill of the camp where everyone assembles during the
day. During that conversation, we discussed possibilities of being
together and after sharing, but doing more listening, I knew that this
was my soulmate that I had waited for all these years. We talked
late into the evening as the others ordered pizza. When we said goodnight
to each other, I wrote in my journal that night and I then wrote Joyce
a letter basically saying that I wanted a relationship and didn't want
to chance us bumping into each other again. Although she lived in
Indiana and I in New York, we talked on the telephone for four months.
That fourth months I drove to Indiana after telling her one night that
I was going to the store so she should get some sleep. The next time
I spoke to her, I was 15 minutes away from her. Little did I know,
but I would relocate to Indiana working at the university and put us in
the same place.
Eight months later after already
meeting her parents and most of her 15 siblings, I myself only having six
others than myself, I knew that the time had come.
On March 21, Joyce's birthday,
we in Fort Wayne at church, where my brother is pastor. I called
Joyce to the front for a special birthday presentation.
Unbeknownst to her, I had bought
a kid size park bench from an antique store in Ohio and it was old and
tattered, like the one we sat on at youth camp.
Joyce thought her birthday presentation
were some earrings in a "small square white box". I had someone bring the
small bench to the stage and I expressed to Joyce and the people how I
remember the night at the bench. The same night when we talked of
the possibilities God would have for us if we were a couple and how I wanted
those possibilities to be a reality. As she opened the box were not
earrings, but a white gold marquis diamond ring, at that instance I took
the box from Joyce; knelt on one knee on the small bench and I asked
Joyce "will you marry me?"
The Beginning...
(Oh by the way, she said yes!)
JJoyce
Ann Lee and Jimmy O'Neal Terry
August 5, 2000
He who finds a wife, finds a good
thing and obtains favor from the Lord Proverbs 18-22
go
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