My Wife (Chapter 6: The Ski...uhhh...Prayer Trip)

Was I going skiing? Or was I going to pray? The truth is I had planned this ski trip for some time in hopes to get away at the end of the year for some reflection, some entertainment, and some vision planning. As the date got closer and closer I realized God had in fact planned this "trip" to meet and speak to me concerning the prevailing issue of Keila in my life. I explained to people, leaving Keila out of the picture, that I was going away to pray. They would make sure to tell me to have a good time skiing. They weren't aware, however, of the pressing need I had in my heart to get on my face before the Lord, away from people and outside influence, and hear His heartbeat for my life.

Leaving on Sunday was going to be a problem. My snowboarding friend, Jon, was traveling with me, and I was able to talk him into leaving early on Monday, instead of late on Sunday. This gave me another evening to hang out with Keila, and Monday came eventually, and we were off.

The trip was about six hours. Jon and I talked about a lot of things on that ride. We talked about skiing versus snowboarding. Jon being over 10 years younger than me was really born into the era of snowboards and skateboards. Though both options were available to me growing up, I am a true snow traditionalist and like to go downhill skiing...fast. We talked about music. Jon was growing into a pretty accomplished musician, and I tried hard to keep up with him as we discussed all his musical dreams. We talked about the future. What were God's plans? What was His purpose for our lives? We talked about everything, except Keila. I knew that I could only talk to God about her, no one else.

Some of the drive we rode in silence. Maybe Jon was sleeping or just plain tired of talking to me (I don't blame him for either). As I drove the car in the early part of that day, I couldn't wait to spend some alone time crying out to God later in the day. I couldn't get Keila out of my mind. I slapped myself on the back several times for not saying anything to Jon.

Then some weird things started happening.

I don't know about you, but I think it can be really funny sometimes when you are thinking about someone or something and you begin to see all these things around you that remind you of that situation. I am not saying God was in everything, I'm just saying I was looking for a "burning bush" around every corner. I saw signs everywhere.

Let me give you some examples:

I saw a license plate with that read "BRK 765". Oh my goodness, I said to myself, that has the letters "B" and "K"...it must be a sign!

I saw a sign that read "Destiny Drive". I knew it! I said to myself. It's a sign!

Well, it was a sign...but anyways.

I put on the music station and I heard a love song! It must be a sign!

I turned on the sports station and the announcer was talking about the kicker from the Dolphins. The Dolphins are my favorite team...the word "kicker" starts with a "K"...Keila and the Dolphins...it must be a sign!

Am I the only human that has ever been here? As much as I wanted a "sign", I really wanted a clear heart to hear the voice of God, and in the car I began to quietly pray.

"Lord," I prayed, "you know my heart. I have a lot of reasons on why to pray for a wife. Sometimes I am lonely and it would be nice to have someone to talk with. Sometimes it is difficult to minister in church by myself, I would really like it to have someone to minister along side of me. I really want a family, Lord. Wow God, I have a million other reasons...but I am not on this trip to see "signs" that aren't really there, or make something happen that isn't your plan. I'm going to hear your voice. Please speak to me, please speak to me."

"Dude...I gotta use the bathroom." Jon woke up from his slumber.

"Uhhh...yeah man, we'll stop up the road here."

Only a few hours later we made the final turn into the ski slope. I had many memories here. Many wonderful memories. Like the one time I had lost control and went over an embankment into a miriad of trees. I remained there suspended upside down lodged between two trees while the ski patrol searched for me. Eventually I was found, but I had to apologize profusely to the owner of the ski slope. He wasn't too angry, just embarrassed. Embarrassed because he was my uncle, and the ski patrol wasn't in the habit of rescuing the owner's relatives out of trees. Or the other time when my buddies, Ricky and Jeff, and I traveled down from college to go skiing for the weekend. We only had to work the triple chair one night so as to "work for our lift tickets". Of course this would be the night that there was a major alarm and the triple chair was shut down for 2 hours while the three of us pressed a bunch of buttons on the control panel. People were stuck on the lift, and somehow it was our fault. I just remember Jeff and Ricky laughing in the walkie talkies. It was pretty funny.

Anyhow, Jon and I pulled up to this familiar sight. I knew I would run into my uncle and aunt pretty quickly. He is a pretty sharp guy, so I tried to get my wit up so I could be ready to deal with him. I wasn't ready.

"Are you two a couple?!" I heard my uncle yell when I walked into the ski shop.

"Uhhh....no." Of course we're not a couple! Some way to greet your nephew I thought.

"Hey, Uncle Mike!" I made sure Jon knew quick that this was my uncle so he wouldn't be offended at his comments...I hope I warned him in the car.

"Ben, are you seeing anyone yet? Or are you seeing this guy?!"

"Mike, cut it out." I was saved by my Aunt Joyce who was behind the counter.

"Aunt Joyce, how are you?" I asked while giving her a huge hug.

"You guys look great together," my uncle was relentless, "we can get you guys matching outfits if you'd like."

"Jon, this is my infamous Uncle Mike."

Jon reached out his hand and my uncle acted like he was afraid to touch him, finally he shook his hand.

"Oh! You have a great handshake, there's hope for you after all! Ha! Ha! Ha!"

Jon and I both politely laughed, I was already looking for a place to pray.

At this point two young ladies walked into the ski shop. They appeared to be Latin American, I thought of Keila, of course.

"Hey Ben," My uncle nudged me when they got of view, "I can see about you meeting one of those girls. They are from Brazil. They are foreign exchange students and living with Joyce and I. They don't speak much english, so there is hope for you."

My mind immediately went back to the prophecy (see chapter 1). The words of the prophecy were, "I am sending her to you from a far off land." The words didn't click until that moment. God sent Keila to me from a far off land. I kid you not, the prophecy only at that point began to make sense.

"Oh...I forgot," My uncle was continuing, "you're not interested in girls..." He then nudged Jon, who again politely laughed. I wonder what was going through his head?

My aunt saved us again, "Here are your lift tickets. How long do you plan on staying?"

"I think we are going to leave early Wednesday morning, on the first of January."

My uncle jumped in again, "Well we have plenty of room at our house, unless you guys were planning on sharing a room, heh...heh...heh..."

We quickly grabbed the lift tickets, got our ski/snowboard equipment and headed out on the slopes. After awhile, Jon and I split up. He wanted to work on some snowboard moves, and I was looking for speed. I spent most of the day in silence, thinking about Keila and life's possibilities. It was great being outside. The weather was beautiful. The skiiing was fantastic. The only thing was, I really missed Keila. I began to look forward to going home.

Jon and I met up in the late afternoon. Though it had been great day of skiing, we were both out of snow shape, and exhaustion was setting in. After enduring some more of my uncle's humor, Jon and I headed for a restaurant, and eventually made it to my uncles house. Jon claimed the loft, and I headed to the last room in the hallway on the left. I told Jon I was going to spend some time in prayer. As I shut the door, God would shake all my doubts away, and my life would forever change.

God's presence was all over that room. I spent time praying. I spent time worshipping. I spent time in Scripture. I don't know how many hours I was in there. It was at this moment where I truly met Keila. God was introducing me to her. Passages out of Genesis and Ruth were not only confiming that I was praying for the right person, they were breathing vision into my future. God was giving me an intimate glimpse into Keila's heart. It may sound odd, but I can honestly say that I fell in love with Keila right then and there during prayer. God filled me with a passionate faith and an iron hope. I knew Keila was for me, the only thing was…uhhh…I had no idea if she even remotely felt the same.

When I emerged from the room that night, I was ready to go home. I heard God, I didn't need to pray any further, and I desperately missed Keila. However, I knew Jon was looking forward to another day on the slopes, and I wasn't going to ruin his plans.

My uncle showed up shortly thereafter, and we had a great conversation. Though his humor can be a little edgy, his heart is huge, and him, Joyce, and I sat and talked about life. I guarded my heart about Keila, but we talked in depth about my future plans, and how good God was in all of our lives. That was a real special evening for me. From meeting with God in the guestroom to enjoying fellowship with wonderful relatives, God really gave me favor. I've thanked my uncle and aunt numerous times about that day, and if I saw them again right now, I would be grateful again. What a blessing.

I began working on Jon early in the morning about when he wanted to go home. I knew Keila was sitting in my parent's house. It was the last day of 2002. I wanted to see her. I needed to see her. I couldn't wait. Jon somehow went along with my quickly hatched plan, and it didn't take much to get him to agree to head home early. It was around 7 p.m., I had a 5 hour drive, and 2003 and my future wife were only 5 hours away. We got in the car and I floored it.