Hello everyone!!! Yes… it has been a gazillion years since I’ve
written a darn thing on this blog, but here I am!
It’s amazing to think that Chris & I have been married
for almost 4 months now - time has FLOWN!!! I can tell you one thing though – I
love him more today than I did on our wedding day. It’s one of those things
that you hear about in all those sappy love songs, but it’s true – your love
for your spouse will just grow and grow by day. I’ve got lots of years ahead to
go, but I’ll repeat the words of Brad Paisley – “I Thought I Loved You Then!”
One thing that I’ve really been thinking about lately is
where I came from. What a rocky road! I was nearly engaged twice before I met
Chris, and both of those guys were obviously not right for me. I called it off
on the first time around, but I was on the receiving side of the break-up in
the second scenario. Both times I needed time to recover, but after I rose from
the ashes, I remember the sense of hope I still had. In my heart, I knew that
those relationships ultimately lacked some vital components, and because of
that, I would never had been truly happy with either one of them. After months
of soul searching, I was actually grateful for the heartbreak and the bumps in
the road – they taught me a lot!
Meeting Chris was such a blessing, and I knew almost
instantly (after 2-3 dates) that he was the one. I can’t explain it to this day,
but everything just fit with him from the very start. It actually freaked me
out, because it was a feeling that was SO different from any other feeling I’d
ever had regarding a relationship. As we dated, it became more and more
apparent to me why those other relationships had felt a little off – the Lord
was trying to direct me to the man of my dreams!
The moral of my story is this – don’t you DARE settle for
anything less than 100% love in your life! Pretty much every person I dated
along the way had some good qualities, but there was always one or two major
things missing that would have turned into MASSIVE compromises. Some were as
big as a lack of attraction. Some were
as small as an annoying or gross habit they had. Giving up a standard or ideal
in the dating stage, even a small one, is absolutely unnecessary. Sure, marriage is about compromise, but dating
is about selfishly finding what YOU need in your life – it’s the same way with
your significant other! Get used to the idea – it’s the truth and you know it
deep down!
The key is this: does
this person ALWAYS make YOU happy & content (even when you’re not with
them)? If the answer is “most of the time” or “no,” then it’s not right.
Period. So make the hard choices. End the relationships you know aren’t right.
Take a leap of faith and jump into the unknown. Faithfully put your heart out
there, ask for guidance from our Father in heaven, then have the courage to
wait for the right person to be directed back to you.
No matter how long it takes, nothing is worth more than
knowing that you married the right person!!! Lots of blessings come from that
patience, I promise. J
