Justin Buzzard - Date Your Wife

Chapter 1 - "How Your Marriage Started"

From as far back as I can remember I've thought about marriage. My daydreams and prayers have always been full of thoughts about "her."

Beginning at the age of four or five, my mom tucked me in at night with prayers that made mention of my future wife. We prayed for her protection and well-being. We didn't know who this little girl was or where she lived, but we asked God to arrange all the details for us to someday meet, marry, and build a family of our own.

Twenty years after these prayers started, I met "her," the woman of my dreams, at a party in Palo Alto, California. Seven months later I proposed. Three months after that we were married. Last week my bride of seven years gave birth to our third son, giving us three boys under age four. We've been busy.

My story is rare. Most men don't grow up with a mom who tucked them in at night breathing out sentences and prayers about the grand adventure of being a husband. But the rest of my story is not rare. Every man's marriage begins just like mine—with a date and a dream.

A DATE

Your marriage didn't start on your wedding day. Husband, your marriage started on your first date. During that first date with your bride, you began laying the foundation for the day you would say, "I do." You began laying the foundation your marriage stands upon today.

How long have you been married? How long ago was that first date? Think back to that day. Replay the memories in your mind. Most men don't realize that the concept of dating their wife is something they've already built into the foundation of their marriage.

My wife's name is Taylor. We met in a kitchen (I'll tell you that story later). Our first date happened six weeks later in a redwood forest.

I called Taylor on a Friday at 9:00 a.m. It was raining out- side. I cleared my throat just before she answered the phone. I told her I wanted to take her out on a date. She asked, "When?" I said, "Now." I told Taylor I wanted to take her for a hike in the rain. She paused, stuttered, then asked if she could call me back in ten minutes.