A Forever Foundation

As the wife of a home inspector (retired), I am acutely aware of the need of a solid foundation for any building to be built upon.  If the foundation is weak, the entire building, no matter how beautiful it might be, is in jeopardy of collapse.  And so it is with a relationship.

Even as teenagers Bill and I knew that we would eventually get married.  We just fit together like “two peas in a pod”.  However, we also had a profound realization that if our relationship was going to survive long-term it would have to be built on a solid foundation – something deeper than attraction or even compatibility or commitment.

Bill and I had a great time together, sunning ourselves on the beach and going on road trips, but a huge part of our relationship revolved around our church youth group.  We were never into our high school social scene.  Church was the center of our lives.  We were at church Sunday mornings for Sunday School and worship services and would go out to lunch with friends afterward.  Sunday evenings we went to youth group meetings and church services and would, again, go out for snacks afterward.  Sometimes our youth group would go to someone’s house for a “sing” on Sunday evenings, complete with music and lots of snacks.  On Wednesday nights there would be prayer meetings and other activities.  And then every month or so we would have a special youth group event: parties, beach parties, miniature golf, amusement parks.

I was usually elected “Social Chairman” so it was up to me to plan our activities and I planned some good ones (pardon my arrogance…)

PIE IN THE FACE

Our Slapstick Comedy party was unforgettable, using Charlie Chaplain, Laurel & Hardy and The Three Stooges as our inspiration.  We began the party by playing a rousing volleyball game in front of the church.  As the game progressed, we discreetly backed my parents’ station wagon up to the court and opened the back, which was filled with paper plates, piled high with whipped cream.  Bill started picking a “fight” with one of the guys and threw a pie in his face.  One thing led to another until everyone was covered with whipped cream and the volleyball court and parking lot were strewn with paper plates and whipped cream everywhere!  As much as we tried to clean everything up, inevitably some leftover whipped cream greeted people as they entered the church for services the next morning.  I didn’t really get into trouble, but was painfully aware of some very unhappy church leaders and custodians.

DIRTY HAY

We also had a “Sadie Hawkins” party, complete with box lunches made by the girls and “auctioned” off to the boy of their choice.  Everyone wore appropriate hillbilly type clothing and the fellowship hall was decorated with cornstalks and hay bales.  Everything went great, that is, until it was time to clean up.  Ever the gal looking for a bargain, I had gotten a really good deal on the hay bales because they were old.  I didn’t think that would matter, as we weren’t going to feed the hay to a horse or anything.  They were only going to be used for decoration.  The problem was, they were filled with DIRT – a lot of DIRT!  After the party we got out the brooms and dust pans and as we started sweeping, the dirt was launched into the air.  The more we swept, the dustier the fellowship hall became, until it was actually hard to see through the cloud of dust.  We did the best we could but the next morning, as people came to Sunday School in the fellowship hall, the dirt had settled … EVERYWHERE!  This time I heard about it from the church leadership.  I think I was the church custodian’s nightmare!

WATER, WATER EVERYWHERE

One weekend we rented rooms at a VERY OLD hotel right on the beach at Hermosa Beach.  This hotel was eventually demolished 5 years later, as it was in very bad shape.  However, there were some people that actually lived there (some very old people).  Over the doors to each room there was something called a “transom”, which was a small hinged window, usually opened to help circulate the air (used before air conditioning was invented).  As we were settling in our rooms getting ready for bed, some of the boys snuck down the creaky hall with cups of water to throw into the girls’ rooms through the transoms.  One thing led to another and the girls started sneaking down the hall to throw cups of water into the boys’ rooms.  One of our leaders (“Mama Rose”) was sneaking down the hall with her cup of water.  Unbeknownst to her, following close behind, was a boy with a bucket of water.  “Oh, R-o-s-e”, he called in a sing-song voice.  As she turned around, he doused her with a bucket of cold water.  That led to a free-for-all!  As the pandemonium increased, an old man emerged from his room, wearing his pajamas, his hearing aids hanging out of his ears, looking quite bewildered.  We felt very sorry for him, having his sleep disturbed.  We figured we’d better cool it so we all went back to bed.

BOB’S BIG BOY

Bob’s Big Boy was our all-time favorite place to go to eat.  Often we would eat there twice on a weekend.  (It’s now designated a “Historic Landmark”.)  They had an inside, sit-down restaurant, and also car-hop service.  It was a really cool thing to “cruise Bob’s”, which meant driving down the alley in full view of everyone in the car-hop area.  After football games we would cram into someone’s car and head to Bob’s.  The line to get into the car hop service after football games was so long, it would take us 2 hours to get into a parking spot and get served.  And after all of that, sometimes we would order just 1 Coke and enough glasses of water for everyone in the car.  It wasn’t just about the food – it was about the whole experience.

And with every youth group activity a small part of our life’s foundation was being laid.  Youth group wasn’t just about the fun (although there was plenty of that).  There were also many meaningful, life-building moments.

LAYING A FIRM FOUNDATION

Twice every year we would pile into our old church bus and head to Forest Home for winter camp and summer camp.  Yes, this is the bus that I described a few posts ago – the one with its old blue paint flaking off between the rust spots, interspersed with dents from various mishaps during its many years of youth group outings.  It kind of leaned to one side, making us wonder if it would ever make it to our destination.  It was missing several seats and some of the remaining seats weren’t totally attached to the floor.  If the bus came to a sudden stop, those seats would shift.  And there was a hole in the wheel well where we could actually see the road beneath us and was a perfect place to drop trash through, right onto the freeway.  It must have been blessed by God because it miraculously arrived at our desired destination every time.  Yes, THAT bus!

Anyway, youth camp was filled with fun activities but, more importantly, was focused on our relationship with Jesus.  It was there that a deep love for Jesus was planted firmly in our hearts – a love that, no matter how far we strayed, always drew us back to its sweetness.  It was at camp that, as Bill and my relationship grew and we knew that we were going to spend the rest of our lives together, we realized that we had to give our lives and our marriage to Jesus.  So, there, under a pine tree, its boughs waving in a gentle breeze, we prayed together, giving our future into the loving hands of Jesus.  God never forgets that kind of prayer.  No matter what life brought, that prayer has been our benchmark, our true beginning.  Our foundation was laid and it was time to start building.

ENGAGED!

On Christmas Eve, 1964, Bill gave me the best gift I’ve ever gotten – an engagement ring.  Our future was set with a diamond.

And so we excitedly told our family and friends and proudly showed off my ring.  Their response?  “Well, it’s about time…”  Our parents were so happy and excited, they threw an engagement party for us and we rejoiced together.  After the party, wedding plans began.  And the story is just beginning…