I had just completed reading the Bible throughout my senior year of high school. The year was 1973, and I was uncertain about my future. I considered attending a Bible School/ College in Arizona, where several of my brothers had gone, but ultimately, I chose to accept a four-year scholarship to a local college/university. I thought about studying music and perhaps becoming a Band.
At 19, life was full of possibilities. My brothers and I began attending a local Pentecostal Church where my mom and sisters went. I remember our first visit; several girls around our age noticed us Lundmark brothers, likely wondering which one of us would be theirs.
The following Wednesday, I noticed a young lady who led the testimony time of praise and worship. She was about my age, and I found her quite attractive, with a sincere spirit and love for God. Over the next few services, other girls tried to catch my attention, but they seemed too wild for my taste. My mother had taught me to date only someone I could see raising my children and spending my life with.
The young woman who led the testimonies also took an interest in me. When I played the trumpet with the church band, she enjoyed it and made it clear to the other girls that I was off-limits. A few weeks later, I received two tickets to a youth event and invited her—Gleneva—to join me.
We started going out and attending church together. As I began college and took a part-time job at the Post Office, our time to nurture the relationship was limited. The thought of marriage loomed, and I hesitated, recalling my mother's swift three-month courtship, and then marriage. I wasn't ready for marriage, so I ended our dating, citing a lack of time due to college and work commitments.
How mistaken I was. For six months, I was miserable, dodging what felt like destiny. I remember asking her to meet me at Arby's Restaurant after a Sunday Morning service; we needed to talk. Gleneva, then seeing another man and wearing his ring, knew in her heart she still loved me. After hours of conversation, she asked if I loved her. "I like you a lot, if that's love, then I guess that is what you call it," I replied. That settled it. That evening, we entered the church, joyful and side by side, for a gospel concert. I must laugh, she wore two rings that night but returned the other man's ring the following week, declaring her love for me.
This marriage was destined. Gleneva became my lifelong companion and wife. We married in November 1976, and 47 years later, with three grown children and eight beautiful Granddaughters, we remain grateful for our enduring love.
Let me add, the glue/bond that kept us together is our relationship to God first and our ever-ending love for each other secondly.
Testimony by Paul V. Lundmark
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