Shannon here: Romantic Suspense author, Jodie Bailey shares her real life romance & a chance to win a copy of title, Compromised Identity. Comment or answer the question at the end of any post dated Feb 8 -11 to enter the drawing. U. S. only. Deadline: Feb 13th, 11:59 pm central time. Here’s Jodie:
I was 21 when I met the man who would become my husband. Poor guy. I was every emotionally bad thing there is about 21. You couldn’t have created a more moody, self-centered, no-self-esteem heroine if you tried. And yet…he loved me. The problem is, I didn’t always see it.
If you had known me in my younger years, you’d have had the “privilege” of being acquainted with the world’s most hopeless romantic. It shouldn’t surprise anyone that I became a romance writer. I had notebooks full of ideas about perfect dates, perfect songs, perfect everything. My best friends would call me and say, “Tell me a story,” so I’d sit on the phone and weave these crazy romantic tales about the guy of their dreams, usually named Danny, Donnie, Joe, Jordan, of Jon. It was 1990. Think about it.
By the time I met my husband, my sense of what made “true love” was fully formed… or fully DEformed. I wanted flowers, reading poems to each other in the park, and slow dancing on the deck in the moonlight. For the record? My present-day self just gagged. Oh, and after growing up in a military town, I also did NOT want a soldier, thankyouverymuch.
Here’s the God thing… My husband is nothing I wanted, and everything I needed.
The man I married is a skydiving, Harley riding, farm boy turned soldier. He read this and said, “Gee, honey. Throw ‘beer drinking’ in there and you’ll have the perfect redneck.” We’ve been together for half of my life. He has sent me flowers exactly three times. Twice while he was deployed and didn’t have any other gift options. He has never slow danced with me anywhere in our house, would rather clean the bathroom than read poetry, and couldn’t make a romantic mix tape if you downloaded the songs for him. Guess what. I don’t care. His “love language” is all him, and it’s all wonderful.
I put him through the ringer before I figured out how much he loves me. I sulked over not getting flowers. I called him unromantic. But then I really figured him out, and he is the most romantic man in the world. He may not bring me flowers, but he brings me good ink pens, which I love, and Mountain Dew. He downloaded a song about chimpanzees because we used to sing it together in the car. Now that’s more romantic than the sappiest love song out there. He may not lay on a blanket in the park and read poetry, but he signed onto Skype at 1:00 AM Afghanistan time just to talk to me about nothing.
And he talked me into riding that Harley with him. Me. The girl who used to be the biggest ‘fraidy cat in the world. Now, I sit behind him and, when we really get to cruising down a back road, he’ll rest his elbow on my knee. That’s the definition of our marriage to me. Think I’m crazy? Well, I know this… There is no other person in the world he’d do that to. I’m the only one. So there’s something magical and romantic about helmets and boots and a V-twin engine that speaks love to me.
I thank God for teaching me how to translate my husband’s love language. He is the bravest, most loving, most giving man in the world. It terrifies me to think what I would have missed if I had continued to insist love looks like my high school fantasies. God’s grace brought us together, and God’s grace has kept us together. Thank God for grace…
About Jodie: Jodie Bailey writes novels about freedom and the heroes who fight for it. Her military romantic suspense, Crossfire, won a 2014 RT Reviewers Choice Award. Quilted by Christmas, a contemporary romance from Abindgon, spent two months on the CBA bestseller list and won a 2015 Selah Award. She is convinced a camping trip to the beach with her family, a good cup of coffee, and a great book can cure all ills. Jodie lives in North Carolina with her husband, her daughter, and two dogs.
About the book – Compromised Identity: Staff sergeant Jessica Dylan confronts a female soldier 
in the act of stealing her laptop—and almost pays with her life. But a blue-eyed mystery man rushes to her aid just in time, and Jessica learns the handsome army staff sergeant has been investigating her. Sean Turner believes a ring of cyberterrorists who’ve been attacking military bases are now specifically targeting Jessica. And he’s determined to figure out why they are tracking her every move. As the threats against Jessica escalate and attempts are made on her life, Sean vows to stop the hackers. Yet the heart-scarred soldier is set on keeping an emotional distance…especially when they discover what the terrorists are really after.
Question for Readers: Have you ever thought you wanted something, then gotten something better?
Come back Feb 11th for Jodie’s recipe for love!
Thanks for having me! It was fun!
Wonderful! Count me as another who is so glad God didn’t give me what I thought I wanted in a husband, but instead gave me the opposite – and exactly what I needed. Sixteen years and counting.
Definitely wanted something, but, got something better in life. My husband and I thought we wanted a beach house as a second home. We looked and looked. Nothing ever seemed right for us. Then, out of no where, his job changed and income decreased. God was looking out for us. We would never have been able to afford two homes. We ended up moving closer to family and that has been the best blessing, better than we ever could have imagined. 🙂
oh yes! Thought I wanted to be a teacher but God knew I would be better as a in home sitter with elderly
Glad to have you Jodie.
I only wanted to be a wife. But God made me a preacher’s wife sixteen years into our marriage. I didn’t feel up to the challenge. And much of the time I still don’t, but I’ve embraced it and wouldn’t change a thing.
Oh yes. In my younger days I thought I wanted to go into nursing but God made me a bookkeeper. Go figure!
I thought I was going to be a teacher, instead God sent me overseas.
I’m like Karen, I thought God had pointed me towards being a teacher. Was in college and close to finishing, when God gave me my hubby and my kids. I took time off to be a stay at home mom and then God directed me to work in a library. I have been very Blessed and looking back, if I went straight down the road I thought I was to take, I would not have the family I have. God is good all the time!
Thanks for this giveaway!
Traci, I say all the time, I’d have crushed a softhearted poet before it was over. I was way too overbearing. LOL
Melissa, as a “retired” Army wife, I hear ya. I fought a move to upstate NY so HARD. SO HARD… prayer and fasting even… and it ended up being the best move we ever made.
Shelia, my hat’s off to you. That must be an incredibly awesome, challenging, amazing, heartbreaking job.
Shannon, I love being here! And I found early on… God gives us what we need when we need it!
Stella, those are two very different things! That made me smile.
Karen, crazy how God leads. My life looks nothing like I thought it would. I wanted to be an experimental psychologist and then a college English teacher. Hmmm…
Wenona, That made me smile. I was going to teach college English and was even enrolled in a masters program. Two weeks before I graduated with my BA, I looked at my roommate and said, “Uhm, I think I want to teach high school instead.” She looked at me and said, “Well, NOW’S a great time to figure that out!” But, it worked out! Ten years in Christian school teaching and I know… God called me right there.
I seem to always learn the hard way that God’s way is always best.
Thanks for the reminder, Jodie about not living in our romantic fantasies or expectations but being there in the present and looking at what is right in front of us…….God knows us best and knows exactly what we need and when we need it.
We came home, not having a house and God gave us a small one when we thought we were no longer in a position to buy one. Several years later, He gave us a bigger house (our kids got bigger and we needed more room). All of this was His doing and in His timing . Ephesians 3:20
Yes, I have thought I wanted something and got something better. It was a christmas gift and it ended up being better than the one I asked for
Karen, you’d think it would get easier the more we trust but, at least for me, it seems to be the lesson I have to learn over and over.
Susie, I thank God so often that He knows best. If I could count the times in my life that He took over and re-directed for the better…
Eliza, funny how that works, huh? I know that’s happened to me a LOT.
Yes but I found that I do better as a single person.
Kim, I understand that! Many blessings there as well!