Celebrating 5 Years of Love

Five years ago today, I married the One that God had promised for me. That day was one of the many promises that He has fulfilled in my life.

Ever since I was a little girl, I knew that I wanted to be a wife and a mother. My mom and dad prayed for my husband, ever since I was a baby - and I am thankful that they did! As I grew older, I began to pray specifically for things concerning my future husband, such as that: he would have a heart before the Lord and would be a Christian, he would love me unconditionally, he could make me laugh but also know when to be serious, hair color did not matter, he would want to have kids, and there are many other things, but the last thing that I will share at this moment was that I wanted him to be taller than me, so I could wear heals without being concerned that I was taller than him! Ever since nursery school, I was always one of the tallest people in my class (I was a head taller than the rest of the kids at my nursery school graduation!). This really did not bother me - I enjoyed being tall and used to wear chunky heals - but I did not want a husband that was shorter than me...and I really do not think that is a shallow request that I made to the Lord (although I was told that once...by a short guy!); I am only 5'8" tall. I just did not want to be the one to carry my groom over the threshold on our wedding day! :)

Well, in January 2000, I was looking for a small group to attend. There were two that were meeting that weekend, so some friends and I attended the Friday (or was it Saturday?) night one, and as people were arriving, this tall, blond guy walked in, and I thought to myself, he is cute and TALL - and believe me, I was not looking for the One that God had chosen for me, I believed that the Lord would bring him into my life at the right time (but I was not blind either!)! Anyway, when the time came to have some food, the tall blond guy kept asking me questions about what I was teaching (I just started my first teaching job), and it seemed like question after question - I was thinking to myself, would you stop asking me so many questions! Then, on Sunday night, my friends and I attended another small group, and I felt like this was where I was supposed to be. I saw the tall, blond guy throughout the year when the small groups would get together, but it was not until Dec 2000/Jan 2001, that the Lord began to bring us together.

This tall blond guy, lived about one and a half hours away from where I lived, but he would drive that distance and stay with his brother during the weekend, so that he could attend church, and he also drove here and back to where he lived on Wednesdays, so that he could attend the church service that night. I saw that he was at church on a Wednesday night, and I thought to myself - this guy really has a hunger and devotion for the Lord - and my heart began to be pulled towards this tall, blond guy, that I now refer to as my dear husband, Dawson.

Since we lived so far away from each other, we would email and occasionally talk on the phone, and from January 2001-May 2001, we built a friendship with each other. We prayed about and felt that God was showing us that we were meant to be together, and began courting in May 2001. The Lord moved Dawson to the area in August 2001. On October 27, 2001, Dawson got down on one knee and proposed to me (that, of course, is a whole other story!). I always told him that I needed at least 6 months to plan the wedding, so he "gave" me a little over 7!

Our wedding day was beautiful, and I have such wonderful memories of the ceremony - when we pledged before God to live our lives together with unconditional love. I remember that one of my eyes kept having a tear fall out of it. I waited 28 years to marry the man that God had chosen for me, and I am so thankful that the Lord chose Dawson for me - he was worth the wait! I cannot imagine life without him. He is everything that I ever wanted in a man, and so much more! The Lord has blessed us in so many ways, and I continue to feel closer to my wonderful husband as we continue to grow in our relationship. Thank you Lord for placing us together, and fulfilling this promise in my life.