Written by Jean Steel Venrick,
wife of The Wordwright

I have repeated this story several times and doubtless need to give some details about my plans to acquire a husband. My goals (requirements) in a husband were to marry one of three men – a farmer, a preacher or an undertaker. I was a young church organist and early on I had decided the man I would marry had to meet some stringent qualities. First of all, as these plans went, he had to be a Christian and would have to be from among the men in our church. Not just our church (as a fellowship which might eventually mean wherever our churches might be) but the congregation where our family worshipped every Sunday. A rather narrow resource, but that was my plan and I had faith God could work within such a framework.

Perhaps I was limiting my possibilities for finding a husband; but I had never been the "popular girl" who had endless male companions – in other words I never had a date!

Then the Lord brought a young man onto the scene through my church girlfriend. He really attracted my attention but as long as she was going with him I did not interfere. Then she dumped him because she didn’t like the Army clothes he wore which were handed down from his brother who was in the Army.

I will never forget when I saw him walking down the church aisle and I said to myself, "That’s the man I want to marry."

Back to my prospective choice for a husband and his occupation. A preacher, a farmer or an undertaker. What a wide variety of occupations! The farm life which I would live interested me because I could be a farm-wife and I would not have to work at an "in-town" job – something I never was interested in doing. I wanted to stay at home. Having grown up on a farm I enjoyed the freedom of being your own boss. I doubt I realized the hard work involved in farming for a living but the "at home" part really interested me.

Then there was the funeral director. Why would I ever be interested in that occupation? There would be an organ I could play most any time I wanted – even play for the funerals! I had a piano at home to play but I had to go to our church (Fifth Avenue Church of Christ in Lancaster, Ohio) to play the organ. So my plan was to have one handy. I guess I might have been more interested in the instrument than the man – but there were steps or stages in my plan.

As it turned out I got the preacher because that young man that so attracted me made a decision to go to Bible college to become a preacher! Now the problems began. If he went to Bible college I knew he’d find someone else to date and possibly marry! I desperately had to do something about that so I decided I would go to Bible college too! He checked out a college in Kentucky and one in Cincinnati, Ohio and I went along on both visits. Cincinnati was the choice – not too far from home!

In January 1951, six months after graduating from high school, we headed for classes at the Cincinnati Bible Seminary. That first night away from home in that big city was a scary ordeal. Loud strange noises from the street were later identified as the large streetcars going up and down Warsaw hill through the night. No such noises occurred on our quiet country roads. With $200 in savings I had put in the bank from working I started down a new road from my quiet country life. I had never been away from home before and my parents did not take too kindly to my leaving so I knew I had to make a go of it! Eventually the $200 ran out and I had to find a job. I went to work in downtown Cincinnati – easily within reach by streetcar and later by bus from the girls’ dormitory in Price Hill.

Bill and I continued to date and stay close together—as close as we could, being in separate dorms far apart. By June 1951 we knew we wanted to marry so June 3rd we took the big step. I had gotten my preacher! We’ve been married now for nearly 55 years! My plan was no problem for God to work out the details.
Details did change somewhat because my husband only preached for about six years when he decided his "church work" was more appropriately to be done as a "layman"—not a professional preacher. Although through the years he did a lot of supply preaching and taught Bible classes for many years.

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This version of Jean’s story was written November 2005. My only postscript to this account written by my wife is that during those initial days of our meeting I had no inklings whatsoever about the background events going on . This country girl, chasing a man? Yes and no – she was just trying to work within a very strict arrangement she had made with her God and whatever that involved (including a move to a big city to attend a Bible college) she had to keep her part of the bargain! I was playing the part of a very naïve young city boy. It’s been a great experience -- fifty-plus years living with this wonderful lady. The Wordwright