52 Hymn Story Devotions - Lucy Neeley Adams

In June 1953, I joyfully entered the chapel at Lake Junaluska, North Carolina, where the youth group was having the first Sunday afternoon meeting of the summer. I stopped abruptly. Turning to my friend Betty Anne, I mumbled angrily, "Oh, no, not Woody Adams again!" There he was, sitting down in front. She knew exactly what I meant. Last summer, I had dated a boy " named Bill until his friend Woody Adams showed up. Woody had been the perfect excuse for Bill to forget me and "join the boys." I had continued to pursue Bill: I baked homemade cookies and took them to the place , he worked. When he was "too busy" to see me, I left the cookies at the desk.

I walked in all of our old familiar places, hoping to see him. One quiet afternoon as I walked by the lake I saw a boy sitting on top of the double-decker sightseeing boat. Thrilled to find Bill alone, I hurried toward him. But when I reached the boat, I saw that it wasn't Bill at all, but his friend, Woody Adams. His broad smile startled me. "Do you know where Bill is?" I asked. I walked away at his negative reply. For the remaining weeks of that summer, I never changed my mind about Woody Adams - he was a pest. Now here he was again. I sat at the back of the chapel with Betty Anne, determined to avoid him. A week later there was a talent show with youth from different work areas around the lake. After some crazy skits, dances and music, everyone was better acquainted. There was only one person who was getting my attention, however -Woody Adams, master of ceremonies. As I watched him M.C. the program, my feelings about him,changed. The "pest" began to look very interesting.

The final song did it: Cupid's arrow found me with a thunk! As Woody sang the closing song, "Too Young," his rich baritone found a home in my heart. When it was over and everyone was leaving, my one objective was to say something to Woody. Something nice. I spent the entire program planning my exit sentence. "Woody, I sure am glad I like you this summer," I called out. Then I left.

The very next morning while I was working, Woody joined me. "Lucy," he said, "you mean you didn't like me last summer?" We began to talk. Hours moved into days and we were still talking. I liked his honesty, kindness, understanding, and lots of other qualities. His hair, bleached by the sun, was very light against his dark tan. I liked that, too. Suddenly all the other boys seemed uninteresting. Bill was but a memory.

I had made a prior date with a boy named Ray, however, and I felt I needed to keep it. We went to the local hangout and danced to the jukebox. Woody was there, too. He came over and asked to dance with me. The song that was playing was "Too Young." We were in our own world. We whispered about dancing right out the screen door into the dark of the night. But at the end of the dance, Woody returned me to Ray.

When Ray walked me back to my hotel, I told him I'd not see him anymore. "I've met the boy I'm going to marry," I said. "His name is Woody." Ray's laugh echoed across the lake as he replied, "You've only known him a few weeks. How can you be so sure?" I had no reply. I didn't know why or how I knew. I just did. One day I would be Mrs. Woodward A. Adams,Jr. Our summer romance that began in 1953 has had no ending. At college we saw each other almost every weekend; during the summers, we eagerly returned to our jobs at Lake Junaluska where we were together every day. Finally, I walked down the aisle as Woody's bride in the very chapel where I had once said, "Oh, no! Not Woody Adams again!"

I joined him at the altar where his father, a minister, spoke the words and prayed the prayers that united us as man and wife. We believe that , God brought us together and has kept us growing in our marriage. Our hearts are warmed when we think of those sacred vows spoken so long ago." Through the years, we have shared our love story in word and song. Woody opens it by singing "Too Young." On the last line I join him in harmony as we sing, "We were not too young at all."

Lucy Adams is a Cookeville writer. Her recent book 52 HYMN STORY DEVOTIONS was published by Abingdon Press. Her husband, Woody, is a former pastor of 1st United Methodist Church of Cookeville, TN from 1995-2000. They moved to Lake Junaluska, NC that year.