Spaghetti Shopping

He was a grocery stock clerk and she was a waitress.

The story began one night in a grocery aisle at the local Meijer (plug). He was stocking cake and brownie mixes, and she was shopping for the meal she would make later that weekend. It was after midnight on a saturday morning. He noticed her before she spotted him. Something on her shopping list brought her down his aisle. He saw her coming and stopped all work. As he looked at her she looked at him. Their eyes met and time stopped. In that moment something passed between them; an aura of light surrounded her being and he beheld her in a different light. There was a connection, beyond the physical that materialized in that instance that lasted forever and yet no time at all. To steal a line from a movie, "...it was like, magic..." He had to speak to her but he knew not what to say. All that came out was "Howdy". She smiled a smile that was engraved onto his heart instantly. As she walked away her energy remained and he had to follow...at a distance of course. She felt the energy and connection as well and noticed his pursuit. He pretended to talk to co-workers while watching her. She shopped while watching him. Many smiles passed between them but no more words...for a bit.

Back in his aisle, she walked by the end and he waved at her. She approached him with confidence that made him nervous in his insecurity. Her words were few but effective.

"Are you spoken for?" she asked.
"No," was his simple answer.
"Can I give you my number?" was her second question.
"Absolutely!" was his reply.

She wrote it on the list she shopped by, which contained the ingredients for spaghetti. With a smile she left for the night, leaving him in a state of bewilderment about what just happened. It had seemed so unreal and yet as real as gravity. He was sober, so no good explanation came to mind. He had never felt such a connection with anyone upon first sight before. He thought about her all night and into the next day when he picked up the phone and dialed her number.

An invitation to dinner at her house followed a long conversation. She made spaghetti.

That was over 11 years ago and was only the beginning. The clerk and the waitress were about to embark on a journey that would bring them through many trials and many adventures. But most importantly they were headed for a relationship not only with each other but with Jesus Christ.