Today marks a special day in the life of a lady important to my life. My wife Sandra is beginning yet another trip around the flaming ball of gas we call The Sun. If you ask her how old she is, she will look you right in the eye and answer, “28.” Of course, that answer cannot possibly be true. After all, we have been married for 51 years – and, no, I am not a cradle robber.

The life she knew as a child has changed so much during the 28 extended years she has lived. Her dad was a farmer. His cash crop was the golden leaf. Her father had her drive a horse-drawn tobacco truck when she was a young girl.

She graduated from LaGrange High School in 1962. She attended Bob Jones University in Greenville, SC, for one year. She focused on a course for those who wished to understand the Bible better. Homesickness brought her back to LaGrange until she traveled to Chattanooga, TN, to study elementary education at Tennessee Temple University. She finished her B.S. in Elementary Education in 1971. I received my B.A. in English from Ohio State that same year.

I first met her at Grace Missionary Baptist Church. Sandra and her family had attended the church for a while, but I was a newcomer – fresh out of college and ready to begin my first teaching job at Grace Christian School. She came up to me at church and said:

 “Hey, Mr. Parker. My name is Sandra Dawson.”

As Dad and I went to our motel that evening, he grinned and told me, “That girl has her eyes on you.” I thought he was out of his mind. As usual, he was right.

As divine providence would have it, our classrooms were across the hall from each other. Since Sandra is vertically challenged, she asked me to close her classroom windows at the end of the school day. Little did I know that even though I was outside pushing the windows closed, another trap was closing around me.

On our first date, we heard Nicky Cruz speak in Greenville. I was especially interested in hearing him since I had just finished reading his book “Run, Baby, Run.” Cruz came from Puerto Rico to New York City, eventually becoming a gang leader. His book details his conversion to Christ under the ministry of David Wilkerson. Our date to hear him was in early October of 1971.

Before long, we were dating regularly, and on February 18, 1972, we were married. Many of our students – her fifth graders and my sixth graders – attended the wedding. My Uncle Bobby, Aunt Dot, and their family made the trip from Portsmouth, VA, to attend the wedding. When I disappeared into the back to await the beginning of the ceremony, none of my family members were present in the audience. When we came out to take our places at the front of the church, I saw the Thurman family seated in the audience.

We celebrated her birthday together the first time on May 1 of that year – and have celebrated it each year since then. Sandra has developed an exceptional talent: She can make her birthday last from May 1 through Mother’s Day most years – just like she stretches our anniversary from Valentine’s Day through February 18.

We are just as close to our four children as ever. The Lord blessed us with 13 grandchildren – one in Heaven and 12 on this earth. We have enjoyed a wonderful life together. The Lord has been – and always is – good.

I am so grateful the Lord blessed me with her.

Happy Birthday!

Mike Parker is a columnist for the Neuse News. You can reach him at mparker16@gmail.com.