What follows is a small section of "Prophetic Love Story". This is our first encounter face-to-face after 3 months of phone calls and emails.

           

Part IV – Meeting Face-To-Face

            Two days before Bill came to meet me in California, something unusual happened on the inside of me that gave me great confidence for this meeting. I had a knowing in my spirit that I would be an idiot not to be in love with this man. We had probably communicated in-depth for more hours than people who had been married for 20 years. We just connected on every level and there was such an ease and flow between us. It was unlike anything I had ever experienced. 

            We communicated daily through numerous e-mails from our time of divine connection on January 26th, until Bill’s first phone call on March 5th. . Our lengthy phone conversations were never aimless, but always rich with the meaningful things of God and His Kingdom. We both realized that this was essential and relevant to our relationship. We had built enduring riches according to Proverbs 8:18, through our concentrated time of communication, and it had not happened by chance. God had been preparing us both just for this. He had been laying the groundwork during the last 20 years of our lives and now it was time for the fruit to come forth.

            Bill captivated me with the sound of his voice and the content of his words from our first conversation. He touched my heart deeply from the very beginning and I just loved the fact that he was very up and enthusiastic about life. I was also delighted to find a great wealth of godly wisdom that we tapped into as we spoke. It was clear to me that he had been a blessing to his sons, his congregation and all those he ministered to. 

            My birthday, April 26th finally arrived and Bill was flying in to meet me. It was one of the most emotional days of my life. Periodically I would think, “What in the world am I doing?  I can’t believe I’m meeting this guy at the airport!  I’ve talked to this man that I’ve never met in person, and now I’m picking him up at the airport”. I thought, “This is crazy Lord, but I know You’ve been leading me”. Then I would settle down and think of the magnitude of our conversations and everything would come into focus.

            Part of my struggle was the fact that I had no grasp on Bill’s overall countenance as a human being and this was very significant. Although he had sent me some pictures he looked different in each one. I could not tell what he really looked like. There was one picture that I particularly liked where his eyes sparkled and he had a great smile. I discovered later that he had been leading worship for several hours at a conference when it had been taken. What I saw was the presence of God all over him.

            With these things in mind, friends at church prayed for our face-to-face meeting and I left. As I drove south on the 405 freeway, I prayed in tongues all the way. I parked my car and walked through the terminal knowing this would be a very dramatic moment in both of our lives. My heart palpitated with anticipation just before I was to meet him and I knew there was no turning back now.

 

On To California

(Bill)

            When the day arrived I boarded the plane in Albany, NY and wondered what in the world I was doing. I was in love with a woman that God was helping me win. I was flying 3200 miles to meet a family and a woman I had never seen in person before. In all honesty my heart just ached as I wondered if she would actually find me attractive. To make matters worse I was arriving on her birthday as well, and it would soon be evident if this was the best or worst day of both our lives. As the plane took off, I knew that I was flying into more than just the gray April clouds of New York State. I was really flying straight into the destiny of God. He had set this all in place for Esther and I, through years of weeping, worship and prayer, and now it was the fullness of time for it to be birthed.  

            After hours of flying, my plane headed into the LA airport. We made our approach and I saw the sharp contrast between the bone, dry desert and the watered gardens of Palm Springs. I looked out the jet window at this and the Holy Spirit whispered in my ear, “All it took was a little water to make the desert bloom, and this is what is about to happen to you”. I fought back tears as the reality of this hit me. My time in the wilderness was over! A few minutes later we approached Los Angeles and I saw the massive sprawl of buildings drawing closer and closer. For just a moment panic gripped me and I wished I could turn around and wait just a little bit longer.

             The thought of this country boy landing in the center of such a huge city to find someone I had never met before was almost overwhelming. Just as quickly these emotions passed and then I heard the pilot call for seatbelts to be fastened. We hit the runway, the engines roared and we pulled into the gate to unload. I sat there for just a moment to pray and collect my thoughts and then stood to collect my things.

            As I left the plane my heart was in my throat. It was hot, humid and very different from any place I had ever been. I continued to walk down the ramp and then saw the opening to the airport was just ahead of me. Every thing in me was jumping for joy, full of anticipation and exploding with curiosity. I moved toward the door with 11 roses in one hand and a box of sugar free chocolates in the other. These were for Esther’s birthday and to my surprise I had managed to keep both in good shape even after passing through three airports and three different planes.

            Just as I entered the opening to the airport I hesitated and glanced around the corner. Below me and to the left I saw Esther. She was an olive skinned beauty with dark brown eyes and long black hair that hung in thick, relaxed curls. She just took my breath away and fear once again began to grip my heart. I wondered “could someone this beautiful even take a second look at me, much less love me?” I forced these thoughts out of my mind, took a deep breath and headed out the door and into destiny.

            As I approached her I knew she had not yet seen me. She was glancing at all the men who left the gate area wondering if I was among them. When I came down the last set of steps our eyes met and smiles broke across both our faces. With that look there was a “click” that resounded in both our spirits. It was evident that every shred of doubt had just melted away. In that moment we knew that God was in it and this was really going to work.

 

(Esther)

            As Bill walked up to me, I immediately saw the smile that I had seen in the picture and I loved his countenance.  Surely his entire expression fit perfectly with the person I had gotten to know through e-mails and telephone. My thought was, “YES”! This is who I asked God for.” At that moment all the pieces of the puzzle were coming together with divine orchestration and we both knew it.