May 4th,

After Mable hung up, we talked about casual topics ... nothing really memorable, but she started giggling. She has one of the prettiest grins I have ever seen. If you ever meet her, you will see what I am talking about ... anyhow ... she was laughing and giggling as she flopped down on one of her two couches. I nodded and sat down beside her.

"What's so funny, Jackson?" I asked, unsure of the answer, but I had to know.

"Nothing, nah ..." she replied, turning red and steadily giggling.

"Come on, Mable ... what is it?" I asked again.

"Nah ..." she answered.

I knew then something was up. Not that I am psychic, but I could feel deep down she had something serious to ask me. What she had to ask was a mystery in my mind ...

"Come on, Mable. You can tell me. I won't laugh," I replied.

For a moment, I could hear my heart beat. Never before have I heard that sound in the otherwise dead stillness of her living room.

She looked at me, stopped laughing and her eyes widened.

"That woman in the Delta ..." a slight pause "I just wanted to know if it was me ..."

In my ear, the Holy Spirit whispered, "You got your confirmation ..."

Words can't describe how awesome I felt. I didn't hear my heart - it had stopped completely. My palms got sweaty - my glasses fogged up.

I had finally reached the point I had dreamed of - I was in the presence of my wife.

I looked at her and gave her the biggest smile I could muster as tears rolled down my jaw.

"You know, you always ask me questions about this woman ... why not as me her name?"

She did ... and I told her.

MABLE - DENISE - JACKSON.

She started crying and said, "I knew it ... I knew it from your letters ... I knew it from your dreams."

She got off the couch and gave me a big hug. I held her close ... I still couldn't believe what I was watching take place.

She then took me to her foyer area closet and showed me a dress she wore to prom. It was the dress from my vision! Green and white! My mouth dropped!

A few minutes later, Trevia and Timothy came by to carry us to the local Wal-Mart. We decided to keep our engagement secret since we didn't know what we were. If we knew it was God's will to be married, we weren't boyfriend/girlfriend, and we weren't married ... so we settled on engaged. And we would do some research on this matter as soon as possible. What I didn't realize then and I do know is ... we were actually married in the eyes of the Lord ... betrothed ... and though we couldn't doing anything sexually, we just needed to get the license to make our union legal, in the eyes of man. And the ceremony, be it with the Justice of the Peace, minister or the like.

When we got in the car, we couldn't take our eyes off each other ... it was bliss!!!!! We made it to Wal-Mart and nearly started holding hands. Trevia and Tim didn't notice our flirts ... they were apparently mad at each other and didn't pay attention to anything except being mad. After we got some supplies from Wal-Mart, we got into Trevia's Mercury Tracer and rode home.

Mable and I looked at each other, our hearts nearly bursting at the sems. We had to say something ...

"So Mable, let me ask you something ... if you found out who your husband was, and he asked you to get out of the Air Force, would you?" I asked, noticing Trevia and Tim cut their eyes toward the backseat.

"Yepp, anything for my husband ..." she replied.

By now, Trevia and Timothy looked at us. They knew something was going down ...

I grinned. "So Mable, has the Lord revealed to you who your husband is?"

"Yes ..."

"Who is it?" I asked.

"It's you, baby!" she answered.

Trevia and Tim turned around and congratulated us.

"CONGRATS, DUDE! I am soooooooooo happy for you!" they both confessed.

Oh, I remember that day so well. It was one of the happiest in my life.

Yet ... over the next 3 months of being apart, we went through some rough spots. Very, very hard spots.

The biggest shock came on her birthday, when she told me she wanted to be friends and said it was never God's will to be together.

That preacher was right ... Satan came in the midst and wrecked our union.

There were family members and close 'friends' that felt the relationship was progressing too fast too soon. They said things like:

'Mable, you don't know this guy and you think you are gonna marry him ...'

'Mable, don't make the same mistake I did ...'

'There is something fishy about that guy. He's way too nice, he stays a ways away and he could have another family.'

'Please don't go to his school. We need you in the BSU here.'

And from my side, my family and friends hit me with stuff like this:

'You are gonna marry her ... does she know this?'

'We'll see.'

'You can do better than her. She's nice looking, but ... you can do better.'

'Maybe it wasn't the Lord's will after all.'

I tried to call, to write, to see her to no avail. So, I asked the Lord what the deal was.

Silence.

So, I decided to sever contact with Mable and get my ring back. I figured since she said it was over, it was. I was hours away from her ... I was going to Orlando, Florida, on an Dow Jones Newspaper Fund internship at the Orlando Sentinel ... in Florida ... tons of Latinas and sisters ... and white girls ... so hey ... I can find another one ... quickly.

But that was my scheme ... my plan, and not God's.
Several years passed ... I had attempted to get with several women, I will never reveal a number, but several. And nothing ever worked out. I said 'If this doesn't work, I will find another ...' I hit brick wall after brick wall.

During our 6-year pause, we did talk, but the convos were short and lethal at times. I can recall calling her in 2001 on her birthday to wish her a happy birthday and 30 seconds into the convo, I told her, "I never want to talk to you again!!!!!" and slammed the phone down.

I didn't know what was wrong with me. I had for-sure hookups go bad. I blamed Mable for this foolishness. I had physically cut our ties, but it seemed we were still attached somehow.

That's when it hit me ... I was betrothed. I did intense research into the matter ... a lot of the same similarities to an 'ancient,' well, old school betrothal and my situation was very, very similar. It started making since. But the nail in the coffin was ... when I asked my dad, a prophet, about the situation (he was well aware of the relationship) and he told me, 'You don't get it, do you? Son, you are in an arranged marriage!

"YOU DON'T HAVE A CHOICE!"

It hit me like a ton of bricks. I didn't like his response, so I told folks of my situation. And they 'advised' me to move on and not to keep this 'burden' anymore. What they didn't know was ... I was betrothed. Regardless of their counsel, wisdom and knowledge, I had made a vow that I couldn't get out of so easily.

Then, Sept. 11th happened. I realized I was living on borrowed time and there was no need to keep playing in the game of love. I decided the Almighty had it wrong and I was gonna handle this myself. Mable was old news, forever.

I took a vacation to Costa Rica in late November 2001. I didn't plan to holler at any hotties I would likely run across ... I wanted to just chill and kick it down here. And it's a beautiful place to chill and parlay in ...

So, I met a couple of Ticas there ... that's what people call the ladies down there ... but I wasn't really down.

Then, I met HER. I went to church with my sister, Nicole, and met an anointed pastor. And the young adults ministry. And his very attractive daughter, Ivonne.

I was indeed smitten with her beauty, but I was determined not to try and kick it with her.

As her dad ministered in Spanish, he looked at Ivonne and told her to translate for me. And she did. We got closer and closer and after his message, she volunteered to pray for my wife. As she prayed in English and Spanish, I found myself telling the Lord, 'Dude, Ivonne will be PERFECT for me!!!!! Please!!!!'

We hung out after the meeting and talked briefly. She seemed like she was the real deal ... she is. I didn't need to do any more searching. It was her. No doubt, I was convinced I would return to C.R. to get her and 'import' her back to the States.

Weeks passed and I was back in the States, finding myself dropping her e-mails and phone calls and following through on my plan. My plan, mind you.

One evening in December, I had a vision of me, Ivonne and our two children driving around Costa Rica in our Toyota Landcruiser. It looked exactly like this below:

Suddenly, a huge truck plowed into the right-hand side of the truck, flipping the truck twice. The passenger door bent inward, puncturing Ivonne's right side. When I came to, I opened my door and got our children out first. Then, I went back and pulled Ivonne out. She was bleeding on everything - and there nothing I could do to stop it. She looked at me and said 'Why? Why? Why?' I knew the answer. Then, as she died in my arms, I told her dad I had disobeyed God. She was never supposed to be my wife.

Some folks, I am sure, will look down on me for including this information, but I have included this as the final straw the Lord had to drop to get my attention. I don't want anyone to make the same mistakes I made in my courtship. I want you ... every reader ... to have an awesome courtship and learn from my mistakes.

When I woke up, and I realized it was a vision from on High, I decided I couldn't play around.

I feel on my knees and asked the Lord to make it crystal clear if Mable was the one or should I look for another.

I 'surrendered' all to Him. Finally, after 6 years, I just gave up. I had let Mable go ... she was in the Lord's hands ... and I asked Him was it my weight? My health? My finances? I didn't care about the answer ... I just gave it to Him, threw my hands up and surrendered. And that was all He had wanted in the first place... <-- Click "place" to continue.