Dave and Sue have been married for more than fifty years, and it began with Christmas cards. 

They were very young when they first met at summer camp. He referred to her as “the girl from Randolph, New York,” and even though they were just kids, she was always on his mind. 

A few years later when they were fifteen, they both attended a regional Youth for Christ camp, and Dave made sure they talked before she got on the bus for the ride home. That was when they agreed to send each other Christmas cards. 

Their relationship slowly grew. He bought her a nice bottle of perfume for her sixteenth birthday, and they managed to visit each other once a month. Sometimes Dave crawled out of bed while it was still dark to catch the 4:30 train, so he could see her. 

When it came time for them to go to college, Dave felt God say to him, “Don’t you dare let that girl out of your sight.” Well, Dave gladly obeyed and they both went to Moody Bible Institute, where their relationship deepened. 

“I began asking her if she would marry me,” Dave said. “She kept putting me off with non-committal answers. Still I kept posing the question.” He knew she just wasn’t ready to agree yet.  

One day in the fall of 1964, Dave asked the question again and Sue unexpectedly answered, “Yes, I will marry you.” 

Dave gulped and looked at her with wide eyes. “Wow! What do I do now?” 

“I don’t know, my love,” she replied. “You’ll have to figure that one out.” 

They’ve been figuring it out ever since. Today they have four children and ten grandchildren, and Dave is the senior vice president of Harvest Evangelism.

How Much He Loves You! 

For some of us, God’s love is a topic we don’t always pay attention to. We take it for granted because we’ve heard about it so often. Over time many of us end up sticking it in a box labeled “Truths for the New Christian.” 

But His love is so much bigger than any of us understand. Even the experienced believer, the person we look up to the most, doesn’t have a full understanding of who God is and how much He loves us. At any given moment, He loves us more than we can see.

Falling in love, dating, marrying, and staying married—all of these things are better and sweeter when we know our heavenly Father’s love for us. His love is what holds everything together (Col. 1:17).

If God Wrote You a Christmas Card…

Last week, we encouraged you to write a special letter—not from you to God, but from God to you. If you haven’t had a chance to write that “Christmas card” yet, take some time today and sit down with your heavenly Father.  

Ask Him what He would like to say to you about His love, and write down any impressions, thoughts, or pictures that come to you. Remember, the voice of God is often still and quiet, so sometimes it seems more “natural” than we expect it to. 

From all of us here at Becoming the One, may you have a splendid Christmas and may your heart discover unexpected blessings. 

For more information on sex, marriage, and finding the person who is right for you, get a copy of Becoming the One by Salomé Roat. Click here to learn more.

You can also order the book in Spanish. Click here.