Four Years Later

Four years ago today.

Four years ago today, I walked down the aisle toward my love, we made our public declaration before God and our friends and family and said “I do”, and we threw ourselves one big party.

I thought about all the stories I could share today. There are so, so many, and with this being my first year of blogging, I really haven’t shared any of them yet. But I realized that today I don’t want to share stories (although I will share plenty in the future!). Today I just want to reflect.

In the past four years, my love has become my best friend. I think for many this is the case prior to the wedding; I also believe that for many this never becomes the case. I’m blessed to have discovered how truly incredible it is to be married to my best friend. We laugh, so, so often. We make a point to spend time together, and we enjoy it. We pursue adventures and goals together. It’s beautiful.

In the past four years, I’ve also learned that marriage is not a fairy tale. Not the kind of marriage that lasts anyway. The best pieces of our marriage were born from facing trouble times, and sticking with it, and coming out the other side, stronger and more united. We’ve hurt each other and cried together. As a close friend of mine says, it’s one of the benefits of monogamy, one of the beautiful pieces of choosing one person and seeing it through. I think that this is one of my favorite things that anyone has ever said to me. Because truly, what a privilege to walk with the same person year after year after year, and learn and grow together.

I’m now in the privileged position of watching my best friend become a Godly husband, grow into the position that God has set before him, and I hope that he would say similar things about me. I’m looking forward to the privilege of watching this continued growth in him and in myself, over the course of a lifetime.

My heart is so full, and for that there are absolutely no words.

Today, we’re heading down to Madison to spend a night there and have some fun celebrating our marriage. I’ve said it before and I’m quite sure that I’ll say it again ~ I believe in always celebrating love, any day and any time. However, Terry and I both love to make our anniversary a special occasion, which I love. I love the dedicated time to reflect and remember why we entered this crazy, amazing journey together, and I love the time that we spend intentionally looking forward at the days to come. It’s one of my favorite traditions!

Happy 4th anniversary, my dear!