The Rest of My Life

On this day, 12 years ago, how could these two kids have known?

How could they have known all the new friends they would meet outside of their hometown and through them get to experience the kindness of God through strangers? How could they have known the adventures they’d have in Europe and see history come alive? How could they know how elated they would be at the birth of each of their FOUR SONS and how they would worship God through His gift of life? How could they have known how incredibly difficult an 18 month deployment was and how sufficient the grace of God is? How could they have known that God’s promise of a good plan was true when they left life in the Army and moved to a strange metropolis?

How could they have known how amazing and difficult marriage can be? That even though it wasn’t always easy, God’s design for marriage was reflecting His love for us. That celebrating meant so much more with the one you love by your side.  That communicating, forgiving, compromising, humbling yourself and sacrificing was possible only through the help of the Holy Spirit. That love on earth could be so binding. That God would so graciously work in each of their hearts to make them more like Christ through their relationship in marriage?

How could they have known that 12 years later, after all those ups and downs, that they would still love each other so much? That holding hands would still be so special and being together was still more fun than being alone. How could they foresee the joy they would experience together and how much they would grow as one?

Happy Anniversary my love. I can’t foresee what the next 12 years will bring but I hope they will be as wonderful as the last 12.

As the words from our wedding song goes “When I said I loved you well, that’s what I meant. I plan to show you if it takes me the rest of my life.”

(Also see, Remembering Our Vows, and Our Dating Story)