Charlie is charming and endearing, even though he is six
foot two inches tall, strong and muscular, and one of the most handsome men God
ever created. He loves a practical joke, the Bible and eating at Waffle House.
He will do almost anything to get a laugh; and he seeks
out places to go where he will have an audience to entertain. Charlie is a
Pastor, and he even uses his pulpit as a venue to tell his funny anecdotes; some of which
I have heard hundreds of times in our many years together.
He has been known to pick on me, just to get a laugh; but
he has learned that I am overly sensitive and he will not hurt my feelings in
order to reap the coveted chuckle.
The cutest thing about Charlie is that he laughs at his
own jokes, and that makes his audience laugh even louder. You know a joke is
coming, because his huge smile and the little glint in his eye give him away.
He is so cute, adorable really; a man of integrity and
worth, hard-working, diligent, conscientious, full of common sense and of the
highest character. His moral fiber is woven tighter than a woolen blanket and
his love keeps you just as warm.
Charlie enjoys fishing for brim, eating farm-raised
catfish on the bone, reading his Bible, drinking his morning coffee with his
buddies and talking about his favorite sports teams.
He is very knowledgeable about many topics and can converse
with anyone about anything. He cares very deeply about everyone's feelings; and
he no longer likes to hunt as he did in his youth, because he does not want to
cause anyone, not even an animal, pain of any sort.
Charlie has been known to proclaim that his love language
is food. Grilled steak, smoky ribs, chicken wings, and a big turkey dinner are
all his favorites.
He has food moods that change almost hourly. I never know
what to cook; but he politely eats everything on his plate and always
compliments me when he is done with both lunch and supper.
Charlie appreciates me and lets me know it. He loves that
his socks match in his drawer, he always has clean clothes to wear, that his
home is casually spotless and orderly, and that he usually has everything he
needs right at his fingertips whenever he needs it.
If I am behind or remiss or too tired, he never berates
or belittles me. He never gets frustrated with me; and nourishes and cherishes
me and makes a huge effort to always think of me before himself.
He makes time to cuddle me, which is my main love
language; and tells me at least five times a day that he loves me. He always
defers to me in making choices, which I do to him too; so our main
disagreements are over which of us will be allowed to serve the other.
Politics, the news, comedy movies and TV shows, and
sharing funny photos or sayings on Facebook are a few of his favorite things.
When he sends me his sermons so that I can make his sermon slides each week, he
always writes me love notes attached to his emails.
Charlie can forecast the weather better than any
weatherman just by looking at radar photos of impending fronts. Almost to the
minute, he can predict when the rain will start or how much time is between
showers, so that we can steal a half hour at the pool for exercise.
His children and grandchildren are very precious to
Charlie. He hears from them all several times a week. He patiently listens as
they chat about the events of their day or current concerns in their life; and he
always prays for them all by name.
I adore Charlie, simply because he is so adorable. His
constant smile warms my heart; and things that make him sad, break my heart in
two. If he would allow me, I would fight all of his battles; but he won't hear
of that.
He vents his feelings to me, and then wakes up the next morning
with his normal positive attitude fresh and new; ready to take on the world,
the flesh and the devil all over again.
Charlie loves to watch civilization wake up. Newspapers are
delivered, the sun breaks over the horizon several hours after he wakes up, and
lights turn off in neighborhood houses as cars back out of driveways on their
way to work.
Charlie works 8-16 hours a day; and some days of the
week, he works morning, afternoon and evenings without complaint. He rarely
takes all of his vacation days in a year; and some holidays he works while
others take a play day. So tired that he can barely stand up, he rejoices in
all he accomplished for the Lord with his day.
He will talk about the Bible with anyone with a question.
In fact, he will talk about the Bible at the drop of a hat; and sometimes, he
will even drop the hat to get the conversation started.
His favorite Biblical topic is prophecy. In his early
teens, he read Late Great Planet Earth by Hal Lindsey and he never
looked back. Pastoring his first church at age 22, his wisdom soon caught up
with his anointing and enthusiasm for God and the Bible.
During the winter season every year, people come from all over the world to hear
his preaching; and many a Yankee threatens to tuck him
in their suitcase to take him back home with them.
His preaching is simple, yet profound. His expository sermons
are all Bible-based. He never makes a statement that he has not thoroughly
researched and found true, using several sources, commentaries and other verses
to verify what he is saying.
The mayor calls Charlie "the friend of the city";
and he is known by all the city council, police, fire, rescue and veterans of
the community. They actually smile widely and call his name in delight when
they see him out around the town.
The greatest fact about Charlie is that he is my best
friend, my soulmate and my husband of several decades. He treats me like a
treasure and calls me his "little woman". Sometimes, he even adds
"my little Italian woman".
Meeting at Books-a-Million bookstore in Pensacola,
Florida, we have been together ever since. We cannot believe the perfect timing
of the Lord to have us both in the same microcosm of time and space in order to
form a most perfect union.
We thank God for bringing us together and allowing us to
embark on a journey through tough times, times of hurt and misunderstanding and
times of joy and comfort - which we continually gain from dwelling together in
unity all the days of our life.
The best part about our relationship is that Jesus Christ
lives in both of us - dwelling in our spirit. We love one another, but we love
God even more. We serve Him together and make the perfect team. We look forward
to continuing as best friends in eternity, as we serve our Bridegroom together
even then. - Kitty Bradley
