This is Marriage

 

It was a rainy afternoon, July 1, 1989, and two young kids were getting married at 2:00pm. The streets were flooding in the little town and we had to turn around and take a few detours to get to the church that day. A friend would later tell us that having rain on your wedding day was good luck. We were destined for lucky then, because the rain was not letting up. 

What started as a chance meeting during a hurricane, had developed into a quick engagement, moving a girl 5 hours away from her family and planning a wedding, all within 10 months. We paid for the wedding ourselves - $1000 to be exact. We had cake and punch in the Fellowship Hall after the ceremony and then we headed to the lake for the next week. 

It was simple and lovely and honestly, I barely remember it all. I know I was nervous as my dad and I stood at the door of the church, about to walk down the aisle. But dad had all the confidence I didn't have that day and he held on to me and said "We've got this!" and took me down the aisle like a pro. What I wouldn't give to relive that moment. 

Our lives would go back to normal a week later, as we returned home and went back to work. We would pass each other in the hall as David worked the early shift and went to classes in the afternoon and I worked all day and went to night school. We were paying for college on our own, working, doing assignments, attending church and living in his grandparent's old farmhouse for $100 a month. Those were the days. 

Eventually David graduated from college, we had our first baby and so much history has taken place since then.

Here we are - 37 years later, 2 amazing sons, 2 beautiful daughters by marriage, and 7 of the most precious grandbabies that have ever been born. To say we are blessed, is an understatement. 

But in between 1989 and 2026 we've lived real marriage...2 totally opposite people coming together every single day, committed to God and our family, even when life has been unsteady and sometimes ridiculous. 

We've lived through so many job losses, it's almost comical at this point. BUT GOD...He has never forsaken us and we've never gone hungry.

We've moved, we've endured being apart while David worked out of town. We've endured illnesses and health scares and we've had fights that seemed huge at the time. We've agreed and disagreed and gone to more family funerals than we ever dreamed we would attend. We have lived life.

But at the end of every day, we've stuck together. We've loved each other. We've been each other's greatest support and as David likes to say...best friends. (I think it's hoaky) 😅

This is what real marriage looks like. It's the good, bad and sometimes ugly. It's compromise and dying to your selfish self, over and over again. It's putting the other's needs before your own, more than you ever dreamed, and it's waking up the next day excited to do it again, because you've got something good and worth it. 

Marriage is hands getting older, bellies getting bigger, joints moving slower, groaning more when you get up off the couch and eating random things when the kids leave the nest. 

Marriage is taking drives, getting frozen drinks and talking about life. It's about reliving the memories of good times with kids in the backseat and dreaming about the future and the next season of life. 

It's about the mundane days of working and paying bills and weeknights watching your favorite shows. 

This is real life. This is marriage. 

It's been the best 37 years of my life.

Until Next Time...

Blessings 💛