It only took thirteen years. But this week I am keeping a couple of promises.

One is to my husband. During my short time living in Orlando (when he was my boyfriend-soon-to-be-fiancé), Steve came to visit me. We had a day free and tried to decide whether to spend it at the Gulf coast or the ocean. I had never been to the Gulf and I’ve never had trouble speaking up about what I want, so I pushed for us to go there. Steve wanted to go to the ocean. But I didn’t know that. Not until much later.

Since the closest beach to Orlando is the Cocoa Beach/Cape Canaveral area, he really wanted to go there. It turns out he had a lifelong infatuation with the whole astronaut/space race thing. His father even worked for Martin Marietta on the fuel systems for the Mercury and Gemini projects (meaning he was one of the thousands who made a bolt that goes on a cog that’s fastened to a wheel that’s part of a spaceship that put a man on the moon).

So, back to thirteen years ago. Two things battled inside my husband. He had a strong desire to please me combined with a lifelong difficulty in communicating clearly what he wants. Thus, we went to the Gulf. And we still got engaged shortly afterwards.

When I found out how much he’d hoped we would’ve gone to the Kennedy Space Center that day, I promised him that the first chance we had, we’d go. It’s hard to believe it took this long, but yesterday, we finally made it!  I kept my promise to Steve. And he’s become a better communicator since we got married.

During this trip, I’ve also kept another promise. When I moved away to begin married life in California, I promised my Orlando friends “I’ll be back.” It took a long time, but we came back. And we had a wonderful, albeit much too short, time catching up with several of my friends, now Steve’s friends, too. We even took the Jesus film tour at Cru’s headquarters, and were inspired with the part we can all play in helping to carry the message of Jesus Christ to the farthest corners of the world, like the person making a bolt for the cog in the wheel of a spaceship that carries people to the moon.

Like most of our “vacations,” this one has a purpose beyond the relaxation that comes with time off work. We always combine our trips with visiting old friends, and introducing them to each other. (I guess that’s part of getting married older.) That goal has taken us all over the world. And there’s still a lot of world, and many dear friends, left to meet.

I’m grateful that God has blessed me with lifelong friends who I can pick up with years later as though it was only a few months. And proud to have been part of an organization like Cru that’s making a difference in people’s lives around the globe.