I have found him whom my soul loves.

I found him in 1999. Accidentally.

A painfully shy student at Florida College, I happily joined my fellow students for a singing on a local beach. We gathered together as the sun was setting, formed a circle, and sang with all our hearts to the Lord.

When students split off to talk with their friends, I noticed a group of young people I didn’t recognize. Assuming they were high school students visiting the campus, I decided to push past my discomfort and shyness and introduce myself to help them feel welcome. As I approached them and my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I recognized that these were not high school students. They were older than me. With nowhere to hide, I introduced myself and discovered that these young men happened upon our singing accidentally while walking on the beach, and that Jesse had graduated from F.C. a few years before. We talked for a short time and parted ways. I really didn’t expect to see him again.

Before heading back to his home, Jesse left a note in my mailbox. We later became pen pals, the real kind with paper letters and stamps on envelopes, and I remember eagerly awaiting the day his letter would appear in my tiny college mailbox. He always drew intricate designs inside the envelope with a hidden message and filled pages with deep and thoughtful writing. For our first date, Jesse and I sang and recorded a love song he’d written for his sister’s upcoming wedding. I was smitten.

14 years ago today, I married my best friend. Happy anniversary to my beloved, Jesse Bacon.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails.

~ 1 Corinthians 13:4-8