Part Six

The Next Six Months
Life continued to putter by and we continued waiting and while waiting I milked cows. I got tired of waiting and I got tired of cows. Milking 30 cows twice a day is one thing, but 200!!! Waiting and cows were becoming an inconvenience. I remember calling Rachel one night asking her if there was any way we could change the wedding date. Could we have it in March instead of May? She calmly put me off, telling me it could not be changed. It would not suit, they would not be able to get the church, and the invitations were already printed. She had many other noteworthy reasons why the date could not be changed. I finally gave in and continued to wait.
Eating, sleeping, and working. There were two things I did not take advantage of. First, I did not improve my relationship with my heavenly Father. Second, I did not go out of my way to make new friends and be an integral part of the church I was attending.
I wonder at times if the path I was treading would have varied if I had made the afore- mentioned items a major priority? Learning to know the Father would have made me a better person. I would have become more established in my beliefs. Why do I believe ladies should wear the veiling? Why do we believe you can lose your salvation? What do I believe about the beard and mustache? How should I handle my children after I am married? How many children do I want and how soon? There were so many questions I could have addressed that would have saved us headaches and heartaches in the future.
Becoming an integral part of the church there in Hanover may have helped me address some of those tough questions. I would have made new friends that could encourage and help me identify some of the issues that I needed to face. However, this did not happen and I continued to muddle through life. I was an unenthusiastic Christian, if there is such a thing, and this view of Christianity would affect my marriage and my children.
The 28th day of May 1994 finally arrived. A warm springy day. Soft clouds floated high overhead and the trees waved gently in the breeze. The sun tossed lazy shadows on the ground as it filtered through the fluttering leaves.