(A continuation in the short series on revisiting Athens. See yesterday’s post for more.)

Seriously. After enjoying a tasty lunch at the Last Resort Grill downtown, Kip and I decided to wander over to the quad and revisit the Library proposal spot. I had forgotten that there was a concrete bench between those columns where we used to sit for study breaks.

When we arrived, Kip took one look and said, “It’s gone.” His memory is turning out to be so much better than mine when it comes to Athens. I had forgotten there were benches between the columns.

I looked left, and thought that was the spot, but he said, “No, there used to be one right THERE”  – and he pointed to an opening which now leads to a handicapped ramp. Yes, times they have a-changed.  We sighed, took our seats on the ‘wrong’ bench, where at least we had sat many times, and had our picture taken.

If I were listening to this story, I would have questions:

“Why did Kip give me my ring at the library?”
He had already proposed, and his mother had helped him take a family diamond and have it reset for me. He was so excited when he picked it up that afternoon that he couldn’t wait to give it to me. Everyone in my family knows that is one of my husband’s sweet ways — he gets so excited about a surprise he can’t usually wait to give it to the person. Or he hints about it so much they easily figure out what the surprise is.

“Why did you get married while you were still in college?”
Well, other than the really obvious answer:  we were head over heels in love and we didn’t want to wait…He knew he was going to medical school, and we figured there would be no good time to get married during those four years, so we opted to get married before our senior year and spend lots of time together building a foundation for the stressful years to come.

“Would I recommend this strategy to everyone?” (This one’s for our kids!:)
We’ve always told our kids and their friends that we were very blessed to have scholarships and parental contributions for living expenses, so we didn’t have the stress of working, going to school, and marriage. But — we would also say — over our 28 years, we have recognized that the beginning of our marriage was based on the core concept that we were one another’s ‘rescue,’ not really such a great foundation for a healthy marriage. God has redeemed and worked in that, and truly, we stand in awe at what He has done to preserve and grow our marriage.

There are more questions we have been asked, or we have asked, but now it’s your turn. Two things for you to consider:

1. Revisit a story of a decision you made. Did it turn out to be a good one or a bad one? As you look at your current story, can you see the traces of God’s handwriting in that story?

2. Consider perspective in a story. Have you ever returned to a place only to find it either – gone, or – very changed, or – the same but entirely different than you remembered it? How did you respond?