While I am not one to be superstitious, the significance of the numbers that this year represent for Sean and me are pretty ironic.
My favorite number has always been, for some unknown reason, 21; and Sean's has always been 17. This past May marked the month that Sean and I had been together for 21 years, and today is our 17th anniversary. The story of us is long and not even half over, and I can't wait to live the rest of it.
We've been through a lot since the very beginning: early parenthood, going through college married and raising a child, job losses, several relocations, life-threatening illness, a child with autism and another with a mood disorder; and I'm sure I'm forgetting other significant things. And I'm also sure the list will continue to build as time goes on. But through it all, our marriage has remained rock-solid; and I know with all of my heart that was no accident. I also know that we didn't do it alone.
We've always believed deeply that God brought us together for reasons that I won't go into here; and in the last few years, we have made it a priority to have a Christ-centered family and marriage.
Along with that, we have made a commitment to cling to one another during difficult times rather than turn on one another; we know that a good, happy marriage is a daily work in progress and not a destination to be forgotten if your path takes a detour; we have an enormous amount of respect for one another; and very importantly - we laugh and laugh and laugh and have fun.
We started out as two kids who met on the first day of 7th grade when our lockers were assigned next to one another. Even when we began dating as friends three and a half years later, we couldn't have been more different - in personality, in background, in our goals for the future.
God had a plan that brought two polar opposites together. Two decades and three boys later, we're as in love as the two kids we started out as - that love has simply matured and bloomed larger and more colorful than we could have imagined.
Happy anniversary to my best friend in the whole world!
You've come a long way baby....and hand in hand the whole way! I couldn't have found a better husband for you had I looked the whole world over. Happy Anniversary to two of my favorite people in the world.
ReplyDeleteHappy Anniversary you two! We're so blessed to be able to watch the love and laughter that oozes out of that house each day. We love you guys!
ReplyDeleteIt has been an adventure--as all relationships are, and I have had the pleasure of watching it unfold, develop, and flourish over all those years.
ReplyDeleteAs Mom said, Sean is THE PERFECT ONE for you. I cannot count the number of times I have thanked the Lord for putting you two together.
I well remember that day in Tennessee 17 years ago, and the joy we all had in your union. But even then, there was a significant history that bound you two together.
How sweet is it now, to not only see the Lord's hand in all this in some oblique way, but to actively walk with him daily as he leads you? Many, many prayers have been answered along the way.
Just as in the 26 years of friendship/22 years of marriage for us, you guys are experiencing the wonder of "it just keeps getting better!"