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Originally posted at : http://www.sarahjoyalbrecht.com/
It’s hard to believe that ten years ago today, on August 27, 1999, Tom and I were married. Was it really that long ago?
Little did I know at the time how Tom would change my life when I met him 12 years ago at a bowling alley.
Reception Kiss - August 27, 1999
My friend Becca was bowling on a league for homeschoolers and invited me to go with her to The Palace in Downingtown, PA.
The lane next to ours was vacant but, being a bit of a bookworm, I
noticed that there was a stack of books on the table. One was called “Rich Christians in the Age of Hunger.” I was curious. I couldn’t help myself! I picked up the book, flipped through it a few times, and then began to read.
I was just starting into the second chapter and, behind me, a slightly irritated male voice said, “Those are my books.”
I froze.
Not one to be intimidated, I spun around and looked at him in the
eyes. “Well! I hope you don’t agree with this socialist author,” I
said, sternly. “While I think that Christians have a responsibility to
the poor, God blesses some Christians with money. I don’t like the idea
of guilt-tripping those God has blessed because they don’t live in
self-induced poverty. What about Christians who are poor and who aren’t
content? I think there are deeper heart issues that aren’t being
addressed.”
From my soapbox, I could see that he was a head taller than me. Dark
hair, nice Italian olive skin, and yet had hazel-green eyes — in fact,
the same color as mine. He had about a two-day old shave, and looked to
be very strong. He was speechless. He wasn’t used to girls who voiced
their opinion.
Becca rescued him.
“Oh, I see you met my friend Sarah from Indiana. Sarah, this is Tom.”
It turns out, he was writing a paper for his college economics
class, and the prof had challenged him to write on economics from a
Christian perspective. I was pursuing a career in journalism –- I
wanted to be a war-correspondent –- and loved the opportunity to write
about interesting topics. I gave Tom my email address and asked him to
send me a note. He didn’t write for two weeks.
That night, I stayed over at Becca’s. While we were in our sleeping
bags by the coal stove in her parent’s family room, I asked her about
Tom. “Tom Albrecht? Well, he’s not really my type [she later married a
blond-haired, blue-eyed military guy] but he’s really smart and he’s
witty. Still, I can’t imagine kissing him or anything.”
(Some how the kissing line has stuck in my memory. Little does she
know how fun it is to kiss him.. I think I’ve kissed him over 9,000
times at this point.) 
What Becca failed to mention when she introduced me to Tom was that I had moved
from Indiana, where I had lived for a few years with my family, back to
Pennsylvania. She forgot to say we had known each other as girls, and
recently had reconnected. But, God had plans to again cause my path to
cross with Tom’s.
My sister Bethany was taking a pottery class at the Chester Springs Art Studio and had made friends with a girl named Megan Catranis . Megan brought Bethany to church – Immanuel Presbyterian (Now Olive Street Presbyterian)
– where she caught Tom’s younger brother’s eye. I’m not clear on the
details, but Tom and Matt were at the Catranis’ house and Bethany’s
name came up. Bethany Phenicie. Phenicie is not a common name, and Tom
said, “Hey, I met someone named Sarah Phenicie. She gave me her email
address but I didn’t see a point to writing to someone in Indiana.”
Megan’s dad was like, “You idiot. That’s Bethany’s older sister. They
just moved from Indiana. WRITE TO HER.”
He emailed me that night and invited me to see Empire Strikes Back.
That weekend, he picked me up in his little white late-80s Le Mans
hatchback. I sat in the front passenger seat. Four guys were crammed in
the back. A thick, black glove was stuffed between the window-crank and
the door. I was told not to touch it or else the window would fall
down.
I was the only girl, even out of the crowd of friends who met them
at the theater. Tom’s brothers had
