“I Got You Babe”

“Oh I am so excited about today!” the man’s wife said as she arose from the bed.  He immediately begun scratching his head trying to remember if today was a special day in her life, or their life.

Her happiness continued as she prepared their breakfast and sent him off to work. As he drove he questioned, “Is it our anniversary? Her birthday? I don’t think so, but she was so excited I don’t want to screw up.” So after getting settled in to his office he ordered her some flowers to be delivered. At lunch he ordered a balloon boutique. On the way home he stopped and picked her up a box of chocolates.

When he walked through the door she greeted him with a smile and said, “Wow!  I can’t believe all that you have done for me.  This has been the greatest “Groundhog Day ever!”

That really is a true story, and tomorrow is “Groundhog Day.” I have no idea if Punxsutawney Phil will see his shadow or not. I believe we will have six more weeks of winter whether he does or doesn’t. If you have seen the movie, by the same name, then you know Bill Murray relieves the same day over and over. Every morning his alarm goes off at the same time to the same song playing, “I Got You Babe” by Sonny & Cher.

There are times when real life feels that way. As if you are in a rut and can’t get out. The days creep by one after the other. To what avail? But there is more to life than sitting around waiting to die. There is life with God. You surrender your will to accept his and then follow his leading to living the most exciting life one could ever imagine.

 I said, “Not my will, but yours Lord” a long time ago. I haven’t always gotten it right every step of the way, but it has been an exciting life. One I would certainly do again in a heartbeat. I love witnessing firsthand how powerful God can be, and how gently he can show his soft love. Realizing he has been working out intricate details of your life without you even asking him to. When provisions show up unannounced, or he leads you to be a blessing to someone else. Acting like my heavenly Father is a privilege.  Seeing the face of someone when they become aware they have been in the presence of almighty God, even if via one of his servants, there is nothing like it.

 It certainly isn’t the life depicted by the movie, “Groundhog Day” at all. A life “with” God and “for” God is the best kind of life one can have.

Copyright © 2022 Mark Brady.  All rights reserved.

Wife of the Month

090120I would like to nominate April for “Wife of the Month”.  For the month of September, she can use the special parking space.  That is, if she was here in America, and if she could drive.  She has completed the immigration process, but can’t take the final step because her country is still in “lock down” mode, so the U.S. Embassy isn’t doing interviews.  Being separated is difficult, but I can see how God has used it for His glory thus far.

Last week, I sent her the following message, and though it is personal, she agreed to let me share it:

Baby, I love you! I simply love you, because you have God’s DNA in you, and it shows. In you is peace, joy, faith, hope and love. Of course the greatest of these is, love. Because love, never fails! Baby, when you look back over our short marriage, you can see a trail of love that has dripped over the mountains we have overcome, and across the ocean that separates us now. Without love, God’s love, we would not have come this far. The story of “Mark and April” would have been a short one, but as it is, our story, is still being written.

I couldn’t wait any longer Baby April. I know our 18 month anniversary isn’t until next week, September 1st, but I just had to let the words above out. I was unable to contain them any longer. So Happy Anniversary, April. I am so happy to be known as the American, who married April Joy Santiago Cruz, and has so far, survived.  I am a lucky man who is blessed by God. He loved me so much that He hid you from the eyes of others, for such a time as this. I know two, maybe three of those men looked your way, but because of your wonderful faithfulness to God they gave up in their pursuit.

Our story, feels like it is taking forever to be written, but I know we are steadily moving every day toward his destination for our lives. Baby April, each day it gets easier to love you, because you, like God, are love.

To you April, the love of my life,
Mark

I am grateful for God’s love, and for his tender nudge to try marriage again, after checking the “Divorced” box for 24 years.  April struggled with her singleness a lot, and most who knew her started believing  “marriage” had passed her by.  But God had a plan that took years to connect two individuals who were 8,149 miles apart.  It’s like He set her on a shelf, so she would be available for me that one Friday afternoon, in October 2018, when I first saw her face on a Filipino dating site.

It’s hard to trust God, who doesn’t always share what He is up to, but when you do, it’s worth it!  God is so amazing, and I am so grateful, He first loved us.

Copyright © 2020 Mark Brady.  All rights reserved.