Our Story

 An ornery little guy who ran his way into mischief at every turn and a sweet, peace-loving, curly-headed little girl… Their families ended up at the same church. Their daddies worked at the same business. Their houses were on the same street. It didn’t take long for the ornery boy to decide that the curly-headed girl was the girl he wanted to marry.

While the two families shared a beach vacation, Hannah’s alert father took 13-year-old Joseph aside and let him know it wasn’t the time for romance. He would be keeping his eye on him. So Joseph focused on the business of growing up…
He practiced the piano. Up the street, Hannah also practiced the piano. He grew and sold flowers. Up the street a bouquet -- for Hannah’s mother -- often sat on the dining room table. He worked for the family business. Hannah’s daddy watched him in action. He butchered chickens. Hannah’s family joined in.

The Paynes and the Forsters went to the beach together, camped out together, made music, ate meals, cut wood, and danced together. Joseph and Hannah learned more about each other. Hannah recognized Joseph’s tender heart, and Joseph admired Hannah’s sweet servant’s spirit. Joseph benefited from Hannah’s discipline, and Hannah delighted in Joseph’s spontaneity.

At last the day came when Joseph was set free to win Hannah’s heart. Before he left for a trip to Virginia, he wrote a letter for Hannah and left it with her parents. While he waited to board the airplane back home, Hannah’s parents were sitting in a restaurant watching her read his letter, and rejoicing that the “time for love” had finally arrived. The months that followed were full of flowers and music and letters, and a ring sealed the engagement at Grandpa’s property where Joseph and Hannah have shared so many good memories. It’s a love story that both families have loved being a part of. We know that Joseph-and-Hannah will be an even greater force in Christ’s kingdom, and an even greater blessing to all the lives they touch. “Oh sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things!”

Written by Pam Forster