I Photographed My Husband Three Years Before We Met

Unrest in the Middle East was not a new thing. Tour Guides and Tour Bus Drivers would pick up a soldier as we gleefully traveled our route from Israel to the Golan Heights preparing for an evening concert. We would be re-routed around hot spots where fighting or unrest was a little too unsettling for tourist to visit at the time. Our tour of the Holy Land turned out to be a memorable trip of a lifetime for many more reasons than seeing the Acropolis, the streets of Old World Jerusalem, or the relics of the walls of Jericho. Ken Turner was the true comedian and all time entertainer making sure our flight attendant was not only charmed but his entire entourage remained in high spirits even when refueling and down time delayed our arrivals. His antics kept us laughing as he toyed with the flight attendant to get her to kiss him on the cheek while he quickly turned his head to get a more impassioned encounter on the lips. It was at the airport in Cyprus where I was snapping pictures of our hosts as well as interesting spots and people, when my camera caught the eye of a group of singers traveling with us that I knew to be the Thrasher Brothers (or so I thought….), friends we had met back in the states and enjoyed in concert several times. But, little did I know, this one little innocent shot with my camera would impact my life in an extraordinary turn of events that I could never expect. After an exhaustive 14 hour flight home and about as many hours of solid sleep once I found my own comfy bed, I headed to the local film shop to see just what wonders I had captured on my excursion that would represent my memoirs of my Holy Land Adventure. As I reviewed the results, picture by picture, I relived the emotion and joy at the Garden tomb, Calvary, as well as great stills of James Blackwood, Laddie Cain, and my many friends who had made this journey so memorable. As I reminisced I reflected on our stay at the beautiful Shalom Hotel, our excitement as we boarded the S.S. Fiorita, our giant Greek ship that we called home for the next five days as we sailed the wondrous Mediterranean Sea, and I recalled the anxiousness as I shot that photo of that enemy ship we were so close to as we docked in Lebanon. There was a photo of the dapper Paul Downing as he toured the Acropolis; I remembered how the guys had kidded Jerry Sinclair for writing such a simple song “Alleluia” which turned out to be an all time standard in the church world – simple maybe, but profound enough to portray all that needed to be said in one simple word. I remembered the wind rushing through my hair as we sailed across the windy Sea of Galilee singing ‘Because He lives’. What lovely memories! But alas, ………….. Who was this man in my picture? Someone who looked familiar, like Joe Thrasher (I thought it was Joe Thrasher when I snapped it), but … who was this man, front and center, in my picture…. I do not know! My Mystery Man! For three years I would look at ‘My Mystery Man’ and wonder who could that be in my picture….. Advance three years, we were at a concert in Birmingham, Alabama. I went to the record table to greet some old friends, the Thrasher Brothers. As I was chatting about the crowds, here comes a familiar face up behind us beaming a sweet smile. I looked at him and thought, ‘He looks familiar’. Goldie introduced us, ‘ no, the name doesn’t sound familiar, I’ve never met this man’…..then, my heart races with excitement, my finger pointing at him, “You’re the guy in my picture!!!”. He wrapped his finger around mine with a big smile on his face and I guess we can say the rest is history. Six months later we were married. Now 28 years and two wonderful sons later, we are still reminiscing about how I took a picture of the man I was waiting to find me. It took 3 years, but find me he did, and I thank God he did. Now we prepare for the lovely marriage of our son and look forward to telling this story to our grandchildren of our fate, our ship, and our love story!

 

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