This is a special article.  It is dedicated to my husband. On May 25th, we will celebrate our 35th wedding anniversary.  In meditating on Building Together Across Generations, I realized that good solid marriages build bridges to the next generation.  When Darryl and I met in 1972 in a rickety house in the central area of Seattle, I did not dream that he was the answer to my heart cry!  As most young girls, I would think about being married and wonder about my future Prince Charming.  However, as a realistic, practically bent young woman, I knew he would not be perfect, nor would he whisk me away to a fantasy castle to live the life of a princess. (This was not my desire anyway!)

I only had two main ingredients in my prayer requests for my future husband.  Well three actually.  That he be taller than I and not very hairy, and that He would have a heart after God and His ways.  Keeping a short list made it easy for the Lord to answer!  I think many fairy tales have girls looking for “tall, dark and handsome.” I got two out of the three: tall and handsome.

Darryl is a man of integrity and strength of character.  Of all the available young men in our church at the time, I respected his commitment to God and to His people.  When God told me that Darryl was going to be my husband, I immediately felt safe and cared for.  We had not dated or “flirted”, or even hinted at a possible long term relationship at that time.  In fact we weren’t even living in the same state.  He was simply Darryl, God’s servant.  It took much courage for me to confide in our associate pastor, Sis. Woodward, what I thought God had said to me.  I thought she would say, “That’s not God”.  But instead, she said, “I can really see how that would work!”.  I know there are single gals reading this article, and I would encourage you to involve trusted leaders to speak into your lives as you are waiting on a mate.  It is difficult, once you have given your heart to someone to really hear what your elders may say, so begin early to dialogue with them about the kind of husband and father you are looking for.

A  few months later, Darryl, after meeting with the Pastor and Sis. Woodward, invited me for our first date.  He asked me to marry him on that date and we were married two weeks later!.  What an adventure it has been, especially two weeks after our wedding I became pregnant with our first daughter.  God has been so faithful to us.  We certainly haven’t had a “perfect” marriage, nor did I desire a perfect man (because then I would have had to be perfect as well).  It has taken much prayer, adjustments and commitment to our covenant to walk through the changes God has brought for both of us, but it has been good.  Darryl is my best friend, he is my “handsome honey” and I am so grateful for this marvelous, amazing gift of God to me.  At times I marvel that God would have chosen me to be his wife.  We have had to ‘sacrifice’ at times and live an “out of the norm” life, but it has always been worth it because we are Team Rodman and we can do whatever He puts before us.  Both of us agree that we are stronger as a couple than we would ever have been as individuals.  We need each other and are not afraid to admit it to one another.

Every couple creates their own “couple dance”.  I am so thankful Darryl’s leading has made it easy to follow as he follows our Lord.  We have stepped on each others toes at times, but we find His rhythm and start again.  I think we have made some beautiful music together. I am glad I am married to this man, he truly is my beloved.  Proverbs says that he who finds a wife finds a good thing, but I would say, “God who gives Darryl to Martha was definitely a good thing”, and as our family motto states, “The Best is Yet to Come!”.

Major Points we have learned:(some quickly, others not so quickly, some we are still perfecting :)

• God joined us, so God can keep us as we submit to Him.

• It is not what I want, it is not what Darryl wants, but what God wants that keeps us both happy.

• We were called to be a team.  Each team member has different functions, but both are needed.

• *Each team has a purpose that is bigger than each individual.  

• *Each individual on the team is important to the results of the team.  

• *As each individual honors his/her teammate, the team works well.  

• *Every team has an off day, and so does every team member

- Martha Rodman