“MATCH MAKER"

KATHY MARIE WILCOX   1966  

MATCH MAKER

 

 I opened the screen door and hesitated before I stepped inside the closed-in porch. I hoped this was the right house.  I could hear the crunch of rocks as my mom backed the car down the driveway. I watched her drive away. I tried to swallow the lump in my throat as I knocked softly on the side entrance of the bungalow. So, this was where he lived .

As usual, Mrs. Felty’s pretty face beamed with a smile when she opened the door. “Hi, Kathy! Come on in, sweetie! Did you have a hard time finding our house?” she asked.

“No, not at all.” I said as I climbed the steps and entered her cozy kitchen. “Am I too early?”

“No, honey, you can help me set the table if you like,” she said.

“Okay, good.” I said, as I peeked around the kitchen and into the dining room. I didn’t dare ask if her son was home from college for the weekend. I still cringed inside remembering when I met him last week at church. He was such a hunk all I could do was nod my head hello. I’m sure he thought I was a ditz.

As I finished placing the silverware on the napkins the animated table and chairs announced: "This is where Donald eats his meals and does his homework! " I could almost see him with his dark hair as he poured over his studies and ate a healthy snack at the dark mahogany table. 

 Just as I shook the vision off I heard the green couch say: "This is where he sits and watches TV and takes naps! "Thank God nature called, so I asked Mrs. Felty if I could use her bathroom. I sat in the tiny, pink room and looked around. The Felty’s liked Zest bar soap, Colegate toothpaste, Listerine mouthwash and Old Spice cologne. I felt like I was trespassing on private property. I had to get out of there quickly before Don came home and knocked on the restroom door! I was glad when the Sunday School class members finally started arriving but I was sad when Don never showed up.

* * *

At the end of the summer my mother bought a set of Collier’s Encyclopedias on credit to help her four kids with school work. My secret desire, now, was to learn all I could about Don’s favorite sport. If this friendship was ever going to start I had to find something for us to talk about. But, the more I learned about football the more confused I became.

The Feltys invited our family of six to eat lunch at their house after church one Sunday. Friendly, Woody Felty grilled the hamburgers, while the women carried out the lemonade, iced tea, and side dishes. When Don’s black Mustang pulled into the front driveway my heart pounded in my chest like wild stallions. My stomach did The Twist while my nerves danced The Watusi.

 Don filled his plate and sat down at the only place left, across from me. After his fake smile you could cut the silence between us with a plastic knife. All I could do was nibble on a chip while I pushed my potato salad around in my plate. I wanted to say something nice like... I enjoyed your sermon today but I wasn't allowed to lie. How could somebody preach so many words and have nothing left to say?

After lunch my dad suggested we take pictures. Don organized us into crazy poses and encouraged us to act silly. We all became goofy and mom still has the pictures to prove it. While we had fun laughing Don disappeared.

* * *

  Don approached me a month later to go out. . . with his friend! (gag me with a spoon) His friend needed a date for a church banquet he said. I tried to hide my disappointment but my hesitancy to answer made Don assure me several times his friend was really nice and harmless. The only reason I said yes to the blind date was I didn't want to disappoint Don.

 I was having a nice time at the church Sweetheart Banquet until Darryl became distracted by a girl at another table who kept looking back at us with hurtful eyes. When Darryl never called me for another date, I found out why. Don and Darryl had used me to make Darryl's old girlfriend jealous. Evidently, it worked because they got married and forty years later Darryl preached at my church and Brenda was still with him. I almost felt responsible for getting the couple back together. I didn't go out of my way, though, to speak to them because...well, because.

 I will forever be grateful to the Felty family for helping me get into college. Donald redeemed himself when he insisted that his mother get me to write or call the President of Cumberland College. I did just that and I was accepted! I got a grant and a part-time job that helped me pay my way through four years of school.

While I was in my senior year at college, Mrs. Felty told her unhappy son to go find me at college and see if we might hit it off after all. He agreed with her he would try but when he got there he couldn’t find me. Instead, God let him run into Judy, a former acquaintance, who I also knew (a wonderful girl). The two of them hit it off right away, (darn!) and soon became engaged (double darn!) and got married.(Woe is me!)

 When I found out about them finding each other, I stopped speaking with God for a while. My knight in shining armor was finally coming to his senses and on his way to find me.... God blinded his eyes? God had used me again to help get another couple together! What about me, Lord, where's my love story? (Oh, I forgot I wasn't speaking to You!)

Be patient, Kathy, God said to the impatient girl from Ohio.

TIMELINE PHOTO

 

Little did I know that God was my Match Maker. He was making plans for me to find Mr. Sandy Storrie, my love story. How we meet will be another memoir, coming soon to you.

Many times we pick out the important things in our life and forget to ask God about it. And, then if things don’t work out we wonder what happened. Or, like me, I prayed about my situation with Don but I ignored the signs that he was not interested in me. I really wasted my time emotionally waiting for someone who wasn’t even in God’s plan for me.

Proverbs 3:6 In all thy ways acknowledge GOD, and He shall direct thy paths. 

 Jesus said, “My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” We may have to wait but we don’t have to struggle to find God’s will for us concerning our mate, our career, our schooling, our job, our place to live, our house, our car, etc. When we acknowledge or include God in our life, He will put us in the right place at the right time so His perfect will can practically fall into our laps!

Waiting on the LORD is so much better!

TIMELINE PHOTOS