I met her 36 years on the campus of Howard Payne University. I noticed her before she ever noticed me. I volunteered to move new students into their dorms. Truth is I did it just for the girls. I carried Brenda's massive box of shoes up to her third story dorm room. She was a brown eyed beauty. She was overwhelmed with it all. Shy and unassuming. I thought she was stunning. We did not talk that day.
I saw her around the campus for weeks. I noticed her long before she ever noticed me. Turns out my roommate had a class with her. He learned some things about her for me. Then it came time to make my move. We waited to see where she and a couple of friends put their trays down in the cafeteria. When she went to get her drink we swept in to sit at her table. Maybe not the smoothest move. That is how it began.
After that, we set up our first study date at a local park. She actually brought books to study. I came only to study her. We both stereotyped each other. She thought I was a head banging rock and roll football player. I thought she was most likely a party girl. It did not take long for me to ask about her relationship with Jesus. She blew me away. She loved Jesus. Taught Sunday school to junior high girls back at her home church. The more she talked the more I considered her the exact kind of woman I wanted to marry. Within a week of our getting to know one another I told my mother over the phone that I met the girl I was going to marry.
We talked about Jesus a lot. She was totally surprised I was studying to become a preacher. She never considered marrying a preacher. I never planned on being called to preach. That was God's plan and He drew us together from different parts of the state.
She went back home to work for the summer. I went to Atlanta, GA to work as a summer intern for my former youth minister. I thought about her every day. I wrote several letters and waited for her replies. We talked on the phone a few times long distance. Those three long months without her. I think it is safe to say I fell harder for her than she did for me. She had been hurt in the past and it took a while to earn her trust.
Then we hit a rough patch that ended in a one year breakup. I kept pressuring her to get married. She knew we could not afford to do so. She did agree to get engaged, but when I kept pushing her to set a date it became too much. We broke up. It crushed me, but God used it for good. That was the summer I really fell in love with Jesus as my first love. I spent months sending her money to pay for an engagement ring we bought on credit. I honestly thought it was over.
She finished her course work in December of our senior year. Howard Payne only offered commencement ceremonies in May. She started her career back in Fort Worth. I stayed in Brownwood to finish my last semester. We ended up talking the weekend of graduation. The door cracked a little. That talk led to a few dates. We dated long distance for several months until I relocated to Fort Worth to go to seminary.
I knew I wanted to marry her. I went and asked her mother for permission. She gave it reluctantly. She was not sold on me. Brenda and I traveled back for the Howard Payne University homecoming game. That is where I set my plan in motion. At the start of the fourth quarter the public address announcer called for Brenda to stand up for an important announcement. He read a message, "Brenda, will you marry me? Love Matt." She was shocked. Embarrassed to have the whole crowd looking at her. It took a moment before she regained her composure and said yes. We hugged and I high fives all my friends. We married on June 29, 1991 at her home church in Hurst, TX. That was 33 years ago.
These days we are empty nesters. We are some of the most boring people in the world. We enjoy just sitting in our recliners watching movies together. We enjoy simple things like walking around the Farmer's Market, going out to eat, going to an occasional movie, and spending time with our sons and our daughter in law. It really does not matter what we do. We enjoy being together. She is my best friend. My soul mate. The person I love the most on this earth.
I looked at her last night and thanked her for marrying me. This morning I told her I am still madly in love with her. I gave her homemade Valentine's cards and surprises this morning. I am blessed to share life with her. It really doesn't matter what we are doing as long as we are together, except maybe shopping. She has worn me down shopping on more than one occasion. I stared at her last night over dinner like a star struck young lover. She is a virtuous woman. She has stuck with me through the best of times and the worst of times in ministry. We still laugh together. Flirt a lot. We talk. Taken countless steps of faith. She still seeks God each morning and I do the same in different locations. I love her more now than the day I married her. She is still my brown haired brown eyed beauty.
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