Praying for Love

She was definitely on the “old” side for a single woman. 26 years and no husband in the 1950s was almost spinster. It wasn’t because she didn’t want a husband, she just hadn’t found the right man yet.

She had grown up in farm country with a bunch of rowdy brothers. She was excited to go off to nursing school and make a career for herself. She was a good nurse, putting up with autocratic matrons and sexist doctors. She wore her starched white uniform with pride and she was very good at her job.

She and her roommate, B, took classes at the university. B was always on the lookout for a handsome doctor who would sweep her off her feet. Her dream was different – she just wanted a good, handsome, honest man that she could make a life and children with. Probably not like the man who turned around in his seat to tell her and her roommate to “shush” during class.

She found a special prayer and decided that she would pray it every day for a month. At the end of the month, she told God, if there still was no man in her life she would resign herself to being single. It was her sacred and secret pact with God, and she took it very seriously. She kept her end of the bargain.

It was the thirtieth day and still no man had found his way into her life. She would be single, that must be God’s will. Sitting in the apartment with her roommate, someone knocked on the door. The roommate was excited, it was the “shushing” man from class; not a doctor, but awfully cute and funny. But he wasn’t there for B, he was there for her. He wanted to take her on a date.

They married, and even though they were both a little older than was the norm, they raised a large family and spent over fifty years together. It was a good and happy marriage. It wasn’t always easy, but it was always filled with faith and love. They both had the same prayer as they journeyed together through thick and thin: “Thy will be done.”