An Interview with Sherry Bowers

INTERVIEWER:  "What would you like to share about yourself, Sherry?"

SHERRY:  "I come from a hearty Scandinavian heritage, full of courageous people who came to this country to keep their dream of freedom alive, while keeping true to their faith.  They fled terror and persecution and sailed the uncertain seas to face many hardships of a foreign land, longing to ease that restless thirst for independence.  Like my ancestors, I have always been restless to find a purpose in life.  It seemed I was always looking for something, but never sure what, and fearing I'd never find it.  Ultimately, this led me to the Oregon Coast.  It was there that life took on a new meaning for me when I met my husband Dave.

INTERVIEWER:  "What would you like to share about your husband?"

SHERRY:  "We met at work, and worked together for four months before we were really "aware" of each other.  It was during a staff movie night that he caught my attention.  He resembled an actor from one of my favorite movies, "Never Cry Wolf".  I couldn't get over it, and though I tried to hide that I was staring at him, I wasn't successful and I made him uncomfortable.  Later on, we had a discussion on anxiety.  He paraphrased from the Bible that "God is not a god of fear, but a god of peace", and I made a note to look that up when I had time.  A week later, I invited Dave to a staff party, and was thrilled when he showed up along with some of his friends.  At first, it was obvious that he was really uncomfortable.  But something caused me to just focus on him and let my roommates tend to the other guests.  Dave and I talked for 2 hours, non-stop, oblivious to what was happening around us.  The next morning, our conversation continued and resulted in a walk on the beach.  It was a stormy day, my favorite weather.  I couldn't keep my exhilaration to myself.  I bounded up and down the beach, waving my arms in the wind, leaping like a kite in the wind.  Several times, I saw Dave trying not to laugh at me, but I didn't care.  The ocean always stirred something deep within me, and I felt free to be myself in front of Dave.  At some point, we sat on a log and talked for nearly an hour about our perspectives on faith.  When I shared that I could see, hear and feel the power of God in the ocean, Dave seemed to be struck as though he'd never thought about it before.  The next time we went for a walk on the beach, it was a beautiful sunny day.  We were in the deep sand, and I reached out to balance myself, and Dave offered his arm like a gentleman.  I put my hand around his arm, and couldn't help but exclaim at how strong he was.  With embarrassment, I looked up at him to see him grinning.  He stopped at a log and encouraged me to sit, then he took my hand and stated matter-of-factly that he would like to court me.  I was a flood of emotions, and could only blubber incoherently and nod my head, with the widest grin on my face that literally made my cheeks hurt.  It was then that he told me that our first walk on that stormy day caught his attention.  He said the wind spoke to him, that I was "Woman of the Wind".  He proceeded to tell me that in Native American custom, that was a time to follow one's hunch.  I couldn't help but cry.  He had seen into the deepest part of my heart, a place that had been fiercely guarded by walls of ice.  Only God could have melted my heart so that this man could love it.

INTERVIEWER:  "What would you like to share about how that moment changed your life?"

SHERRY:  "Many times I've felt adrift at sea, with no wind to guide me in the sadness of struggle, as I've endured many hardships.  But with Dave, I found my purpose.  Along the way, the winds of life have picked me up and gently urged me onward to happiness, despite the hardships I've faced.  We began dating after knowing each other for four months.  We were engaged after two months, and married four months later.  There were factors about our relationship that we knew would be a challenge even before we became engaged.  But we believed we could face them together.  Throughout the years, God has spoken to me in the darkest storms, when I am at the deepest despair, and He has lifted me and filled me with life and hope, with delight and a morning song that helps me dance like the eagle on the winds of change."

INTERVIEWER:  "What would you like to share about your relationship?"

SHERRY:  "While we were dating, we began meeting every morning for devotions before we started our work day.  It has been the biggest challenge of our relationship.  We've struggled to relate to each other's perspectives and staying true to our convictions.  But persistence has always won out in the end, and we've been so blessed by spending that time together.  It has built the bonds that were strong enough to carry us through some very difficult miles in our marriage.  We've read so many scriptures that have meaning to us individually, and several that speak to us as a couple.  But there are only a handful that speak to us about each other, and one that spoke to Dave about me was Proverbs 2:1-6  "My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God.  For the LORD gives wisdom, and from His mouth come knowledge and understanding."  When I am at my lowest and feel as though the entire world is against me, Dave reminds me of this passage and revives that connection between myself and my Savior.  Dave is my spirit guide, the wolf that found me in the midst of the storm.

An Interview with Dave Bowers

INTERVIEWER:  "What would you like to share about yourself, Dave?"

DAVE:  "For as long as I can remember, I've always been fascinated with Native American Culture.  I grew up listening to my grandfather tell tales of fighting off Apaches with his grandfather in the early 1900's.  As a kid, I was always losing myself in novels about adventures, dreaming of being a strong warrior. When I discovered Louis L'Amour, I learned even more about the ways of the American Indian.  It was the details in the novels that gripped my attention, and filled my imagination with endless hours of exploration. By the time I met and married my first and only girlfriend in 1999, I had acquired a variety of music and art. I realized through her eyes, that I was already living like an Indian."

INTERVIEWER:  "What would you like to share about your wife?"

DAVE:  "I have a fond memory of one of our first dates.  We were walking a coastal nature path on a misty afternoon. She had her arm in mine, and our feet were crunching noisily on the gravel as we were chatting about many things and the seagulls were squawking loudly as usual. A short distance further, I stopped short. Sherry seemed to have not noticed that the squawking had stopped, nor that there no sound within the forest before us. I motioned for her to stay where she was, as I proceeded into the dark forest. My steps no longer heavily crunching the gravel, but lightly pressing ahead quietly, my eyes adjusted to the dark forest, piercing ahead at whatever loomed ahead. Suddenly I stopped. There before me was the most awesome sight.  Without a word, I motioned for Sherry to join me. Once Sherry got beside me, I gestured in front of us... "Do you see him?" I asked. I waited for Sherry's eyes to adjust, then smiled when she suddenly gasped. There before us was a tall and strapping bull elk and behind him were several females and calves. Sherry looked up at me, beaming from ear to ear, then watched with awe as I approached the elk, and spoke barely above a whisper to him. I could not understand what compelled me to do this, and I don't remember what I said, but we eyed each other for what seemed an eternity, before the elk turned and retreated into the thick of the forest. But, before he disappeared, the elk looked over his shoulder at me, and he literally bowed when I pressed my hand to my heart and extended it out to him in the native way... and then he was gone."

INTERVIEWER: "What would you like to share about how that moment changed your life?"

DAVE:  "Sherry says that moment fixed it in her mind that I was the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with.  She says that I am a completely different man when I am one with nature.  She is the only one who has seen that side of me.  It was only natural that I'd want to continue to let her a part of my life.  Four children and 12 years later, Sherry has given me the courage to be the "chief" of my "tribe", embracing each new day with eyes that seek out the Creator through His Creation."

INTERVIEWER:  "What would you like to share about your relationship?"

DAVE:  "During our marriage counseling, our counselor asked us to pick out a verse for each other, to claim over our relationship, as a foundation to build our marriage on.  Sherry picked Deuteronomy 32:10-12 "In a desert land He found him, in a barren and howling waste. He shielded him and cared for him; He guarded him as the apple of His eye, like an eagle that stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, that spreads its wings to catch them and carries them on its pinions. The LORD alone led him."  Whenever I feel like I've lost my way, and I have many times, Sherry always reminds me of this verse.  It encourages me that God has a plan for me, that I don't need to despair, and that He sent Sherry to keep me focused."