This is the verse we used in our wedding on October 11, 2014.
Yes, wedding. I was married after 3 years of being a widow. I know, first hand how this marriage will end...one of us is going to die. I know this, yet I still married. As love bears all things.
It's a very romantic story: Joe and I actually graduated high school together. Belton Tigers, Class of '83! He and my deceased husband, Jim, played trombone together in the high school band, they were friends.
We lost touch, as many do after high school, and frankly, we didn't hang out in the same crowd. He got married young (just like me). He has three children. We reconnected the spring of 2012, when he learned that Jim had died. He was this friend who would call and tell me stories of Jim & high school that I never knew, had never heard. He made me laugh, he prayed with me and for me. We lifted each other up via phone calls, text and messaging. He could always make me smile.
In October 2013, I had the opportunity to go to Hot Springs and have a girls weekend with some of my childhood friends. Sheila was battling colon cancer, I knew this would probably be my final time to see her, spend time with her. On my way, I stopped at a Taco Cabana in Mesquite and met Joe for lunch. It was the first time I had seen him in over 30 years! Fun lunch, amazing weekend with a high school homecoming, a slumber party and multiple trips to Sonic.
We met again on 10/27....I invited him over for lunch after church. I made pork chops. We spent hours with each other, catching up in person, laughing. He came over again November 6, that's when we decided we were both curious as to where this relationship was going.
We never looked back. We've been together ever since. We've met each other families (most of them). I adore his kids, they seem to adore me. My kids have embraced Joe with an open mind, just wanting me to be happy and Joe makes me so stinkin' happy! I am incredibly blessed to have kids that are genuinely happy for me and encouraged me. My daughter met Joe, and said, "As long as you make my mom happy and aren't an axe murderer, I'm good."
There have been some bumps along the way. Being a widow, sometimes you never know when or how your grief is going to appear...Joe is right there to comfort me and help me through. It's a learning process for us both. It's nice to have someone to help me through the sadness.
The wedding was simple, small, sweet. Just what we wanted. All of us hanging out together before the ceremony, watching football, getting ready. We were surrounded by our kids, my folks, one of his brothers, our very best friends, in the church. I have a new last name--that will take some getting use to, for everyone.
We have the upcoming fun of a honeymoon, an 8-day cruise in the Caribbean, the fun of planning our holidays together, mixing traditions, making new ones. It's exciting and it's amazing. We laugh a lot and seem to never run out of things to talk about. He spoils me rotten, and I try to do the same for him. Our only arguments seem to be around who's going to pay for the groceries & for dinner out...
God's blessings have poured out on me in the most amazing ways since Jim's death. I'm in awe. I'm thankful and ever so grateful.
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| Mr. & Mrs. |
Good to see that you're blogging. It's an excellent way to get your thoughts out when nothing else will work. As you know, that's what I do. Keep blogging; I'll keep reading. -- Warren
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