I liked reading writersblock1117’s tribute to her Hubby for Valentine’s Day, and thought it was a good idea to do the same for my own Valentine. So here goes….
Ray and I should have never met. I’ve planned large scale events before, and I know that orchestrating the details of this connection……. Well, let’s just say this was a “God-thing.”
I didn’t date much in high school or in college. Just never could seem to find the right one. So instead I just kept on going to school. I ended up finishing grad work at Baptist Bible College in PA and staying on to teach there. Summers were my quieter time, and I wasn’t around campus much. However, I was there briefly one day and happened to drive by my friend Michelle Hammaker on campus.
She was visiting from out of state, and I stopped my car in the road to say hello and could we get together? We quickly decided the only time we could have together would be at the Teen Leadership Conference meeting that night. I had never been to any of the summer conference events on campus, but I quickly agreed so I could spend time with my friend.
I was already sitting down when Michelle walked in with some other youth leaders who were attending the meeting, and I was instantly drawn to one of these guys. I found out later that his name was Ray Jezek.
Ray really shouldn’t have been at this meeting either. He was a 20-something internet programmer in the successful 90’s “Dot Com” era, and yet something about ministry had always tugged at his heart. So he made a radical decision to leave his successful career and pursue a one year internship through his church.
It was late July 1999, and he had just wrapped up his internship doing one month’s worth of missions trips with various groups from his church. On his way back into the country, he got a phone call. Could he possibly help drive the youth group to Clarks Summit, PA? because the scheduled driver had to back out at the last minute. His answer, of course, was yes.
So it was Wednesday evening, and now we were both in the same gymnasium with hundreds of teenagers. I was content with my life, having fun beginning my new career and enjoying the freedom of spontaneous weekend trips to the beach with friends. I had never been boy crazy, and yet here I was… straining to find this boy. Where did he go?
After the service, Michelle and her friends Patrick and Dena McGoldrick invited us to meet them in Barndollar Hall. I quickly agreed hoping that Ray might show up. But when I got there he wasn’t there. The lobby was full, and as in any group of youth leaders, this was a fun and loud place to be.
And then, Ray walked in.
When Ray tells this story, he makes a point of mentioning that when he walked into the room there was only one seat still open. The one next to me. He says he would have sat anywhere else if possible, because we were very outnumbered by married couples. We had both arrived at the age at which people start really pulling for you to find the Right Person.
Well, Ray didn’t want to be the single guy making such an obvious move in front of our eager group, but, c’mon everybody… this was the only chair still available. So he sat beside me.
Our friends will tell you that we instantly turned our chairs toward each other and were quickly lost in conversation. We started with questions like “what do you do for a living?” but quickly arrived at deeper topics about how God had been revealing Himself to us and teaching us over the summer. It was a deep and instant connection that I had only had with one or two other soul-mate level friends. Ever. And those were girls.
It was around 11 or so when our conversation began. At 2:30am, we paused long enough to look around the room and realize that everyone had left without our noticing. I glanced at my watch, realized the time, and suddenly felt a bit awkward to be in a dorm this late with a guy I had just met. Not knowing for sure what to do next, I stood and walked toward the door. I remember turning in the doorway and saying something awkward and completely under-stated like, “it was nice meeting you.” I didn’t even know yet at this point if he was dating anyone.
And then Ray said the important line that led to a series of conversations that have never stopped. “So what are you doing tomorrow?…”
We spent all day Thursday together until my car battery died in the parking lot in front of his dorm. That led to an embarrassing call to security — especially since the buzz was already hot in this tight community about “Miss Glanzer” and Ray Jezek.
Bless their hearts… Maybe they’ve finally found someone…
And then we spent all day Friday together too until after the service that night. I remember praying together under a tree outside before we parted ways. He asked me if I would consider allowing him to fly me to Chicago to spend a week with his family. Now you have to know that I am the kind of person who rarely makes spontaneous decisions. I usually need to pray about it, make a pros and cons list, ask three friends, and then I’ll get back to you.
But this? Well, it was just so right. And without hesitation, I answered, “okay.”
I went. And that week, he decided to move to PA so we could continue getting to know each other. He arrived in September and by March he was proposing to me. He chose the lobby of Barndollar Hall as the place to pop the question. He had the room set up the way it had been that night with the chairs in a circle and roses on the chair where I sat that first night. He said something incredibly sweet like “this time every chair in the room is open, and I still pick the one next to you.” And then… ”will you marry me?”
I said Yes………
I love you, Honey. Happy Valentine’s Day.
