Summer was drawing to a close. Lee and I had discussed marriage many times and we had a plan for our future together. However, I was getting a little worried…
will he ever pop the question? I went back to school for my senior year at Troy. Then, a few weeks later was a holiday-Labor Day. Lee and I decided to go to Orange Park to visit his family during this holiday weekend.
Lee told me that on Saturday he was going to take me around Jacksonville. This is something that I had complained that we had never done. So, he wakes me up bright and early Saturday morning. As I get ready, he keeps asking me if I’m bringing my camera. As soon as we get in the truck
(and he checks that I have my camera), he gives me a new 4GB memory card.
Our first stop is a park along the river. We walk around and take pictures. Then, we drive into town. We see that there’s an art festival going on where people have set up booths to sell things
-like Harvest Day in a big city. I told Lee I wanted to stop there and he said we would go by there later. First, we were going to an art museum. When we entered the art museum, Lee paid the fee and the lady told us that we may want to check out the gardens first before it gets too hot. So, I told Lee we should head to the gardens. He insists that we should look around inside first. So, I begin looking around inside. While I’m looking at each piece and trying to appreciate it, Lee is zooming around the room and is ready to go to the next one. Eventually, we make it to the door for the gardens. These gardens are gorgeous. It’s right on the St. John’s River. I have a new huge memory card so I’m busy taking tons of pictures. As we walk, Lee asks me which direction I want to go in and where I want to sit. I choose a bench by the river and he begins to tell me about one of the sermons he preached in the prison.
He tells me he preached about
love. Then, he tells me that he told them a story. All of this is very blurry about what he actually said. Anyway, he ends up down on one knee asking me to be his
wife. I say yes and he puts the ring on my finger. It’s exactly what I wanted a solitaire, round Leo diamond- something simple and timeless. We take many more pictures and I’m so
excited and
giggly.
After we left the museum, I called my mom and my meemaw. Then, we met up with his family for lunch. Later that day, I called and texted my friends with the good news.
I later found out that Lee bought my ring before he even told me he loved me! He called Kay Jewlers all over Alabama, Florida, and Georgia trying to find the best ring at the best price. He finally found one in Middleburg, FL. So, on a Wednesday night, he made a
10 hour round trip from Graceville to Middleburg and back to buy me a ring. He bought the ring on November 12, 2008 and proposed on September 5, 2009.
After the proposal, the madness began. I was finishing up my last year of college and doing my student teaching. On top of this, I was planning the wedding and planning for a move to North Carolina. Along with this, I was looking for a job.
As the wedding date moved closer, it felt like we saw each other less and less. If we did see each other, it was usually to do something wedding related. If we were talking on the phone, we were talking about something wedding related.
The night of the rehearsal dinner, Lee surprised me again. This time it was with a scrapbook. This scrapbook contained pictures, receipts, tickets, napkins, programs, etc. from all our dates. It also contained a letter that I read that night before I went to bed.
On July 17, 2010, we got married. This day is also somewhat of a blur. That night, I had a surprise of my own. I had saved that letter that I wrote during the early morning hours of January 1, 2007. The letter was for my future husband. (If you’re not sure what I’m talking about read:
Our Love Story Part 1)
I know that
God planned out our
love story for us. The very day that I completely surrendered my love life over to God, He brings my future husband into my life. He also gave us the wisdom to realized that if our
love was going to last, it had to be more than a feeling. Feelings are great, but they come and go.
Love has to be a decision. Every morning, you have to wake up and choose to
love another person more than yourself. You have to accept the good and bad about that person. You have to accept that you can’t change that person. If there’s something you don’t like about them now, don’t think it will change when you get married. It will probably get worse. You can’t be selfish when you
love your spouse. You can’t just say “I
love you” and never act on it.
Love is a verb. It takes action. This kind of
love is hard and it takes work, but it’s the only kind that will outlast all the hard times.
Our marriage has had its hard times already. Moving away from home, family, friends, and the only life I’ve ever known has been hard. Being a minister’s wife has been hard. Working a full time job, keeping a house clean, fixing supper, and doing some things for myself (like working out, Bible study, crafts, etc.) has been hard. It’s not going to get any easier, but I do it all because I love my husband with a love that is more than a feeling.
On a happier note, marriage isn’t always hard. We’ve had fun times too.
This is just part 4 of our love story. It’s not the final chapter. We have so many chapters that have yet to be written. I look forward to what our future together holds and I’m glad to know that the pen is in God’s hands.
1 John 3:16-18 (New International Version, ©2010)
16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
