19 Years and Counting (Joni)

Recently, my husband and I celebrated 19 years of marriage. It doesn't seem possible that it's been that long...at all.

I remember praying for my future husband, confident that God had a young man out there for me. I was in my early 20's when we met. I thought I'd meet my husband at church, maybe youth group, a church activity, friend of a friend, etc... Nope! We met on an online dating site. Someone from our church had mentioned it was like the modern day writing letters. With in a day or two of being paired with each other, we were talking on the phone for hours at a time. I mean like on the phone for 8 hrs a day. He lived in another state but it was a fun way of getting to know each other (although hindsight, it was rude at times to those around us 😬😆🤭). We would each take turns heading to the other's state on the weekends.

We dated for about 1 year before getting engaged. We were engaged for 6 months and then married just before spring. Our wedding was very simple and we loved it!!

The next few years brought a lot of joy with pain, sorrow and hard times mixed in. Struggles as newlyweds, the birth of our daughter, infertility, the adoption of our son, continued infertility, the purchase of our first home, more struggles, more joy and so much more...but that's for another post. 🙂

As I look back at the first 19 years of marriage, it would seem like there were a lot more valleys than mountain tops. When Ry and I started talking about marriage we agreed the "D" word (divorce) was NOT ever an option. A vow made to each other, before the Lord, was not meant to be broken. Talk to anyone who has been married, hmmm, maybe 10 years or more (or less) and I think they would agree; some days you just have to cling to Jesus and the vow you made.

Looking back, I wouldn't change a thing. We've grown, we've matured, we've loved. We've also learned that we have a lot more growing, a lot more maturing and a lot more loving to do.

God knew exactly who I needed and who needed me on this wild ride we call life. So, Ry, here's to the next 19 years of growing, maturing and loving each other. Problems and all, I still do!! ❤️😘


Growing in Hope, 

~Joni

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