Love to last a lifetime(Darrell Case) He stood beside her hospital bed. His eyes filled with tears. All around them, machines beeped and burped. To him, she was just as beautiful as the first time he saw her. Forty-two years. Working together, ministering together, loving each other. Now it would come down to minutes, possibly seconds. Soon death would take her.
Even in this time of sorrow, he smiled. In his mind’s eye, he saw her standing in the living room. Was she as nervous as he? If she was, it didn’t show. His heart speeded up. She was a small woman, 28, just a little over 5 foot. Her thumb was as big as his little finger, 87 pounds.
She smiled, her blue eyes shining. He loved her then; he loved her now. Their years together seemed like a blip in time.
“Hi.” He said. He felt as if he had known her all of his life. The living room faded away. Her mother faded away. It was just the two of them alone in the universe. At least it felt that way. He fell into the pools of her eyes. She smiled, and the world brightened.
“Hi.” she said. She smiled, and the sun rose. He would remember this moment for the rest of his life.

She was nervous. What would he think of her? In high school, a boy invited her to the prom. How hurt and disappointed she was to find he had another girl in the car. Over the course of her 28 years, she experienced a series of disappointments. Would this just be one more? She had worked on her hair for an hour. Finally, she just gave up. It was what it was. She looked at herself in the mirror. Tears came to her eyes. How she longed for love. To have someone to cling to in life’s rough sea. At 28, she had almost given up hope of finding someone to spend her life with.
Yet here he was, checking her out. Others had. They never came back. Would he be the same? But no, he would not be the same. She felt it in her soul. This man, this bean pole, was different.

He cleared his throat. Would…would you like to go to Dairy Queen?”

She smiled. it lit up her face.

“Yes.” she said, finding her voice. “I would like that very much.”

He couldn’t remember what they talked about that night. He remembered how comfortable he was with her. After they ate ice cream cones at Dairy Queen, he took her to a Christian bookstore. He purchased for her a small necklace. Just a few dollars. The first piece of jewelry he gave her. There would be many more. Before he left, he asked for another date.
“Would she accompany him to his church?” She readily agreed. After which he took her with him everywhere. It only seemed natural for him to think of her as his life companion.

On the third of July, he called the florist. He arranged with a friend and his wife to take her to their house after the evening church service. Soon after their arrival, the friend and his wife slipped out of the room. They made some excuse he couldn’t remember now. What he remembered was being on his knees and reciting to her a poem he had written. In the last line he asked her ‘will you marry me?’ That famed poem hung in their living room.
With tears in her eyes, she said an enthusiastic “yes”. He slipped a ring on her tiny finger. He gave her the flowers, and a card addressed to his future wife.
After congratulations from his friend and his wife, they hurried home to tell her parents. Thus began a whirlwind of activities. He watched in fascination as it all came together.

He arranged for the church and the pastor. A friend he had known for years. On a Saturday night in August, he stood at the altar, nervous but determined. In his heart, he knew he was doing the right thing. She stood at the back of the church. Others had worked on her hair, makeup and other things. The music started announcing her. On the arm of her father, she came down the aisle. Around her, the guests stood, their eyes on this beautiful woman. She mouthed the words ‘I love you’.

That night, they started their journey as husband and wife. A journey that would end today.

He remembered those words now. He gripped her hand, not willing for her to die. For over 42 years, he had loved her, and now he must let her go into eternity alone. Her eyes closed; she breathed the last breath on this earth. Tears flooded his eyes and ran down his cheeks. “I love you.” He said. The words were just as fresh today as they were the first time he said them to her.

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