O Happy Day...

9 years ago today in a ceremony atop a Mountain, by a lake, and after a late afternoon rain, my husband and I said "I do". Many of you where there and either sat in a wet seat, dried off seats, or comforted me as I threw up and cried. You may remember how the rain brought out the beauty of the mountains and the clouds mixed with the sunset. The Celtic music that had been preselected was fitting for the mountain mist, and we surprised you all by riding off into the sunset on a horse. I remember when the rain started 30 minutes before our wedding, post poning it by an hour, thinking why would it rain on my outdoor wedding day, just before the time for us to walk down the aisle. But just as God has done for the past 9 years, He took that rain and turned it into something beautiful. I can assure you that even if it hadn't of rained, the wedding surrounding scenery would have been amazing, but the fact that it did rain, in the end, made the surroundings even more idyllic. Standing on top of that mountain as the sun set and the clouds that had once opened up and poured out their wet wedding gift, was a moment in time that is permanently etched in my memory. I can still smell the wet grass and feel the dampness of the misty fog.

I wonder sometimes if God sent the rains 30 minutes before my wedding to prepare me for the next 9 years of marriage. I have spent many days in our 9 years of matrimony crying and feeling sick over our struggles and hard times. We have been through as many ups and downs as Mother nature herself, and yet out of the rain and the soggy seat cushions, God has always brought us through it to the other side and the waiting blessing of the unexpected beautiful sunset. God has used our marriage to show me more about myself than I had ever learned in my previous 24 years of living. But more than that He has used our marriage to show me more about Himself than I would have thought possible.
In all honesty I have wondered in the past, why God would choose Stacy for me and me for Stacy. I have at times wanted to strangle the man I am married too. But at this juncture of 9 years, I am more convinced than ever that God through His divine will and infinite Mercy has truly blessed my marriage even when I choose to focus on the pending rain clouds.
As the days, months, and years go by, I am thankful for the beauty that God shows me through those clouds and I have no choice but to be thankful the clouds where ever there. After the rain comes the most beautiful sunset.

So Happy 9th Anniversary Stacy....here's to the rain and the beautiful sunset on our wedding day... Here's to the rain and beautiful sunsets of our daily life...and here's to many more years of seeking a marriage that is focused on Christ and balancing the two out.