It was early 1988, and my sister called me and said, “There is someone I want you to meet.”

Okay, whatever, who is it?

“Her name is Faith, and she is moving to Michigan and joining the same organization where you work.”

A few weeks later I received a letter in the mail from my sister. She had cut a picture out of her college yearbook of a girl named Faith Alley, and told me the date and time that she would be arriving. Faith was traveling the country with a college singing group, and they were dropping her off to begin her new work later that summer.

I’m not exactly sure why I was so intrigued, except that my sister was pretty persistent. (Actually, “persistent” could have been my sister’s middle name, but this seemed somehow above the level of her normal persistence). So on the prescribed day and time, I waited for the van to pull in and drop Faith Alley off.

She stepped out of the van, and….well, my heart stopped. I jumped into action as the self-assigned bellman and told her I’d be getting her luggage.

Over the coming days, I fell in love with Faith Renae Alley. At the time I was journaling, and seven days after carrying her luggage I wrote, “I think I’m going to marry this woman.” It took awhile to convince her of the same. I stayed in the “just friends” zone for the next year. Our work put us in different parts of the country for nine months a year, and so I pursued her through letters (sent “old school” through the US Mail) and very expensive long-distance phone calls.

The next summer our love became real. I remember the first time I said, “I love you.” She said something like, “That’s nice.” But a few weeks later she returned the words and the romance continued to deepen.

We married the following summer on June 16, 1990—thirty years ago today.

No one prepares you for what it will be like to live with the person you love for 30 years. In some ways, we know each other deeply and thoroughly. In other ways, we discover new things every day. We spent the first two years focusing on our marriage, then began having babies and went through 27 years of the challenges and joys of raising kids until the youngest started college last year.

Not too long ago, the plan for today was to be on an Alaska Cruise celebrating our anniversary. Then came Covid. And a new job. And packing a house up to sell. So instead of a cruise, I’m hopping a flight on the day of our anniversary, as we prepare to start a new chapter of our lives as empty-nesters in Chicago. Our Texas house is under contract, and we anticipate moving in early August.

With the move will come new adventures and new friends. And hey Willow Creek—I can’t wait for you to meet Faith Stevens. I don’t know another human on the planet who is more relational and encouraging. She loves people deeply, and those who end up in her friend circle feel very blessed. Faith has no enemies, and if she did, she would win them over. Everyone walks away encouraged after talking to Faith.

After 30 years, I am still smitten by her smile. I sometimes catch myself staring when she walks across the room. Life has had its ups and downs, and we’ve had our share of challenges, but I couldn’t be happier to be doing life with Faith Renae Stevens.

Hey babe—let’s do this for another 30.