"I DO"

Twenty-one years ago today I married the man of my dreams.

 

It was a beautiful sunny day that day with temperatures reaching the mid-70s.  My daddy took me out for breakfast before we got ready to go to the church and he said to me, "The Lord made this day just for you."

It was a wonderful day!

The guest list totaled 507 and a little over 400 people attended.

I know...that's a lot of people!  Large families, lots of out-staters and long-time small town can result in not knowing where to stop the guest list.

And most of those people came offering much more than congratulations and looking forward to a good party after the wedding ceremony. 

See, Scott had been through a lot in the months leading up the wedding, having a cancer diagnosis and surgery seven months prior to the wedding and a repeat of both of those six weeks prior to the wedding.  We were looking at months of chemotherapy just two weeks after saying our vows.

I say "most of those people" because something happened the week of the wedding that I didn't learn about until a few years later.

My mom is a daily church-goer, going to Mass most every morning.  Earlier that week of our wedding she was coming out of church after attending morning Mass when an elderly woman my parents had known for years approached her and said, "Isn't your daughter getting married on Saturday?"

Mom replied happily, "Yes, she is!  We're so excited and looking forward to the day!"

The elderly woman snapped back, "Well!  I don't know how you can possibly allow your daughter to marry into such a horrible situation!"

My mom was confused and asked the woman what she meant by this.

The woman responded, "Allowing her to marry a man who is so ill and starting their lives together in such a way.  I just don't think it's right!"

My mom fumbled for some sort of answer and when she finally got in her car, she cried.

How could this woman be so incredibly mean?

Well...like I said...I found out about this years later, after this woman had passed on, and was just as shocked by it as my mom was, especially since I had always considered her such a kind lady.  It's funny to think that many of her adult children, who were friends and in the same social circle as my parents, had attended our wedding!

I'm not sure why this woman was so critical and felt the need to express it to my mom.  It's really not important.

If only this woman knew that twenty-one years later Scott and I would be still doing life together...with two amazing kids to add to the joy of the journey.  The challenges we faced early on and then throughout our marriage certainly were difficult...but with each one we grew stronger in our commitment to each other, to our family and to God. Had it not been for those challenges, I wouldn't be where I am today as a wife, a mother, a woman and certainly in my faith.

I won't lie and say that I haven't often wondered why God chose me to be Scott's wife and mother to Parker and Faith.  I've wondered this more times that I can possibly count.

But then one day recently, while loading the dishwasher and not even pondering this question, God revealed the answer to me loud and clear..."I didn't chose you to be Scott's wife and Parker and Faith's mom.  I chose them for you...so you would know me."

Oh if only that woman could see us all these years later.

I wonder if she would ask the same question she asked my mom 21 years ago on their way out of church?

Wishing you a peaceFULLYsimple day.

peace.
jeanine