Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Guestblog: Mama Leopard on Her Engagement

Today is a special treat: Mama Leopard shares her journal entry from more than 30 years ago that retells how she and Papa Leopard got together six months before she wrote this. (She edited it a bit lately with Papa Leopard, replacing her journal description with his description.)


February 1, 1981

I am writing this down so we can look back and appreciate how the Lord brought us together. He keeps showing me that we are together to bless others and to be servants for Him.

Even during the summer of 1980 I knew something special was going to take place my senior year. Toward fall, I felt the Lord saying “Mr. Leopard—marriage.”  Quickly—very quickly—I shut out that thought from my mind. How could I possibly marry someone so amazing?  I mentioned it to my brother S, who warned me not to tell anyone, so that we could see God’s hand in this. Believe me, I didn’t tell a soul. It sounded absurd. In October, while along with my family on a hunting trip, I asked the Lord to show me a deer as a sign if I was to marry Mr. Leopard. Well, S shot one, but a dead deer didn’t count in my mind. Back at school, I struggled in my mind. My pastor prayed with me and I felt a release. When I returned to my room that night, my roommate and I were talking and she said, “I have to tell you that Mr. Leopard really likes you.” I remember falling off my bed.

November 1, 1980, Christian Fellowship had a hayride. I noticed him looking at me. The next night was a Bible study in Lackhove Hall. I dropped him off at his apartment and hinted at my interest. The next day Mr. Leopard and his roommate asked me to their apartment after church on Sunday to make breakfast. They had both agreed that they wanted to marry Mennonite girls, so I think they were checking out my cooking ability! We continued to do things together until December 7. After church we had pancakes with Vicki and Lynn, and then we tried to find a TV to watch Kenneth Copeland. Failing at that, we drove to the State Game lands. We walked and talked for 3 ½ hours.

At this point, the Lord was speaking to Mr. Leopard about committing to me. He took my hand in his, and I knew!  We kept walking through a path lined with trees and a heavy mist falling upon us.  As we approached the end of the path, seven deer bounded in front of us (remember the hunting trip?).  We came out into a field watching the deer, and as we turned the corner to the left we suddenly saw a rainbow; it looked like it was about thirty yards away and stood about thirty feet tall.  We stood in awe; at this point I think the hair was standing on the back of our necks.  We realized that the sun would soon be setting and that we really weren’t sure of the way back to the car.  We decided to leave following a certain path.  Immediately Mr. Leopard sensed the Lord speak to him, “This path will represent your life together; you will come to a tee in the road, you’ll feel to go one way and she, the other. Go the way she says.”  We continued on, praying and talking, when we came to a tee in the path…

When we saw the car, we danced and sang and rejoiced. And then—the Kiss!

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