There are many things about June 6, 2008 that do not really impact me. For example, my mother did not tell me (thankfully) that there were several moments of crisis with my wedding cake on that big day (apparently one of the tiers was crooked but I never noticed). I was not as phased by the heat as my poor relatives were as they scurried around setting up chairs and decorating my "garden". I never really got to taste my food at all and only tasted my cake when we took the "feeding each other cake" photo.
But there is one thing I will never forget. I heard "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" and grabbed my Dad's arm. I inhaled deeply to keep the tears back. The day was here!!! I was getting married !!! The crowd stood up and I smiled...this was it. Then, I saw him. There he was. He was waiting for me at the end of that garden path...and he was happy to see me. Not just happy...his face was beaming and I KNEW at that moment: HE LOVED ME. He wanted me and only me. He wanted me to be his wife...forever. With all my quirks, with all my problems and issues...he wanted ME. I do not know if I will ever experience a feeling like that ever again. For that moment, in that space and time, the world was perfect and everything was right. That moment in time is etched in my memory.
In the past few months (well, a full year now) I have revisited that moment countless times. Those two "babies" who got married that sweltering June day...They had NO idea what was ahead of them. They had no idea how many nights they would have to lean on each other for strength when their own strength was gone. They had no idea how many times the Lord would come through for them in the 11th hour and stengthen their faith once again. They had no idea how much fun they would have just spending time with each other...not spending even a dime to do it. They had no idea they would ever get to be homeownners (or dog owners for that matter). They had no idea the days of sunshine they would have or the storms they would have to walk through. They had no idea they would stand at the grave of their firstborn daughter...with her never having lived for even a minute outside of her mother's womb. They had no idea....no idea.
And yet, we were ready, should those things come (and they did). We stood in that garden, in front of God, in front of our pastor, in front of everyone we knew and loved and PROMISED ourselves and them that we were in this for the long haul. We were there for each other...for better and for worse, in sickness and in health, for richer and for poorer. As these four years have gone by, we have had our share of "the worse, the sickness and the poorer." At the same time, God had a purpose in it. For one thing, we are bonded in ways few couples can understand. We know about sorrow...and those sorrows have made us stronger together. We know that if no one else on planet earth understands how we feel about something...we know that our "other half" knows why those tears pop up unannounced. We also know why we smile that silly smile even if no one else does. We know that one of us does not eat raw tomatoes and that the other hates corned beef. We know that one of us has more blue shirts in his closet than anyone else we know and that the other will wear any dress as long as it was picked out by the her sweet hubby. We know the likes, the dislikes, the fears and the hopes. And, what is even better is that we are willing to work on those fears and hang-ups without quitting on each other.
Only our Heavenly Father knows what might come in the next 60 plus years...but whatever those things may be...I know we will make it through. We promised it to each other. We made that promise that hot June day four years ago and it is a vow we mean to stick to. After all, we promised "for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer...in sickness and in health."
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
An even BIGGER four years ago
There are many things about June 6, 2008 that do not really impact me. For example, my mother did not tell me (thankfully) that there were several moments of crisis with my wedding cake on that big day (apparently one of the tiers was crooked but I never noticed). I was not as phased by the heat as my poor relatives were as they scurried around setting up chairs and decorating my "garden". I never really got to taste my food at all and only tasted my cake when we took the "feeding each other cake" photo.
But there is one thing I will never forget. I heard "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" and grabbed my Dad's arm. I inhaled deeply to keep the tears back. The day was here!!! I was getting married !!! The crowd stood up and I smiled...this was it. Then, I saw him. There he was. He was waiting for me at the end of that garden path...and he was happy to see me. Not just happy...his face was beaming and I KNEW at that moment: HE LOVED ME. He wanted me and only me. He wanted me to be his wife...forever. With all my quirks, with all my problems and issues...he wanted ME. I do not know if I will ever experience a feeling like that ever again. For that moment, in that space and time, the world was perfect and everything was right. That moment in time is etched in my memory.
In the past few months (well, a full year now) I have revisited that moment countless times. Those two "babies" who got married that sweltering June day...They had NO idea what was ahead of them. They had no idea how many nights they would have to lean on each other for strength when their own strength was gone. They had no idea how many times the Lord would come through for them in the 11th hour and stengthen their faith once again. They had no idea how much fun they would have just spending time with each other...not spending even a dime to do it. They had no idea they would ever get to be homeownners (or dog owners for that matter). They had no idea the days of sunshine they would have or the storms they would have to walk through. They had no idea they would stand at the grave of their firstborn daughter...with her never having lived for even a minute outside of her mother's womb. They had no idea....no idea.
And yet, we were ready, should those things come (and they did). We stood in that garden, in front of God, in front of our pastor, in front of everyone we knew and loved and PROMISED ourselves and them that we were in this for the long haul. We were there for each other...for better and for worse, in sickness and in health, for richer and for poorer. As these four years have gone by, we have had our share of "the worse, the sickness and the poorer." At the same time, God had a purpose in it. For one thing, we are bonded in ways few couples can understand. We know about sorrow...and those sorrows have made us stronger together. We know that if no one else on planet earth understands how we feel about something...we know that our "other half" knows why those tears pop up unannounced. We also know why we smile that silly smile even if no one else does. We know that one of us does not eat raw tomatoes and that the other hates corned beef. We know that one of us has more blue shirts in his closet than anyone else we know and that the other will wear any dress as long as it was picked out by the her sweet hubby. We know the likes, the dislikes, the fears and the hopes. And, what is even better is that we are willing to work on those fears and hang-ups without quitting on each other.
Only our Heavenly Father knows what might come in the next 60 plus years...but whatever those things may be...I know we will make it through. We promised it to each other. We made that promise that hot June day four years ago and it is a vow we mean to stick to. After all, we promised "for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer...in sickness and in health."
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