Blessed Beginnings

THE ULTRASOUND ROOM was abuzz with happy anticipation as the technician, a former coworker of mine, prepared for the scan. As the image of our daughter's face became clear on the screen, we were ooh-ing and aah-ing and commenting on how cute her little cheeks were. Then the adults in the room grew quiet.

"Does her nose look smushed to you?" I asked the technician.

She simply said, "I need to get the doctor."

This wouldn't be the first and only time that we would be seeing doctors on Mia's behalf. Little did Jase and I know that a whole new chapter of our lives was about to unfold. Thankfully, we had come a long way from our very start, a memorable Christmas in 1988.

* * *

I did not have to say a word.

The look on my face communicated everything to Jase Robertson when he presented me with my Christmas gift in 1988.

It was a potted plant, not even a very big one or some exotic species, just an ordinary plant in a plain clay pot. Since I could not hide my confusion, I stared at him with a look that clearly said, "Are you kidding me?"

Sensing that I was not exactly pleased with this present, Jase could hardly restrain himself from grinning as he told me to "dig around in the dirt." As I dug, I found a small box covered in felt (and dirt). I knew immediately that it was a jewelry box but had no idea that the box held a beautiful engagement ring! Once again, the look on my face communicated everything I wanted to say, which was great, because I was so excited and surprised I could not speak.

Jase looked at me and proposed in his unique way, not gushing about how much he loved me and tenderly asking for my hand in marriage. He simply said with complete confidence, "Well, you're gonna marry me, aren't ya?"

Too thrilled and shocked to say very much, I managed to answer yes, and that was the beginning of a commitment the two of us still hold and treasure to this day, one that now includes our two amazing sons, Reed and Cole, and our remarkable daughter, Mia. We have a wonderful life together, but it did not just happen to us. Since the very beginning, when Jase and I first met, we have had challenges to overcome. We are still facing challenges, and with God's grace and help, we are still overcoming them.

Apples and Oranges

The differences between Jase and me were obvious from the start. For one thing, he had already graduated from high school by the time we met, while I still had two years left. Beyond that, our backgrounds had almost nothing in common, except that we were both committed Christians and had both been raised in West Monroe, Louisiana.

Jase was the second son born to Phil and Kay Robertson, whose tumultuous early years of marriage are well known. Jase grew up having to take care of himself in many ways or under the watchful eye and caring hand of his older brother, Alan. I was born in Lubbock, Texas, but my family moved to West Monroe when I was six months old. My father was a preacher, and my mother was a music teacher. My childhood was as stable and structured as Jase's was unsettled and unstructured.

By the time Jase's family got established in rural West Monroe after living in Arkansas and in a couple of small towns in Louisiana, he was surrounded by three brothers; a host of aunts, uncles, cousins; and his paternal grandparents, Granny and Pa, who lived in a little house on Phil and Miss Kay's property. The Robertsons were accustomed to big family meals, large holiday celebrations, and having lots of people around. Phil and Miss Kay have always had an open-door policy in their home, eager to feed someone, clothe someone, or give someone a place to sleep. Many times, Jase walked out of his bedroom to find a stranger sleeping on the sofa, and he hardly ever walked out his front door without running into a relative.

I, on the other hand, grew up with one brother, and with no grandparents, aunts, uncles, or cousins nearby. When we wanted to visit family, we had to travel out of town, which we could do only once or twice a year. My mother's parents often invited missionaries or traveling preachers to stay at their house, but my father's family kept to themselves and did not welcome outsiders into their home. When my parents married, they basically followed my paternal grandparents' example, and we rarely had guests for meals or an overnight visit.

Every Saturday, my brother and I helped our parents with household chores, such as dusting, vacuuming, and cleaning. My dad often said, "Cleanliness is next to godliness," and after meeting Jase, I quickly realized that the Robertson family did not regard this proverb as highly as my family did.

I remember one Saturday when Jase called me and asked if we could go out that night. I told him I'd like to but I had to dust first.

"Dust?" he asked. "What does that mean?"

"You know, dust the furniture."

Silence.

"Like, take a rag, spray Pledge onto the furniture, and wipe it clean."

Yes, I actually had to explain to Jase that the word dust could be used as a verb as well as a noun.

Obviously, the Robertsons' open door and relaxed, unstructured ways were completely foreign to me, but I liked them.

I went to a private Christian school. Jase went to public school. As a teenager, I liked spending weekends with friends or going to ballgames. Jase wanted to spend his weekends outdoors and was happy as long as his activities included a fishing pole or a shotgun. My family bought ingredients for our meals at the grocery store. Jase's family had two primary ways of providing dinner for themselves: They either caught it or shot it, then skinned it and dressed it. My family lived in a well-kept house with a paved driveway in a suburban neighborhood. Jase's family lived in the country, and everyone parked their cars in the front yard.

When Jase and I first started dating, I had no idea how little crossover existed between the ways we grew up. All I knew was that he was very good looking, he was serious about his faith, and he had a self-possessed, self-confident quality that I had not seen in other guys. He was not interested in impressing anyone, including me. He was so comfortable and secure in who he was that I knew right away "what you see is what you get." He was determined to be true to God and true to himself. I understood that about him soon after we met, and I liked it.

Jase wanted to make sure I understood something else about him. When we reached a point in our relationship where we knew...