9 Years of Pure Bliss

Today is our 9th wedding anniversary.

9 years ago this evening, a small town church was aglow with candles and white Christmas lights...and Brandon and I promised each other forever.

As many of you know, Brandon and I are highschool sweethearts. Growing up in a small town, everyone knows everyone, and Brandon and I were actually "boyfriend and girlfriend" in the first grade. After that, we drifted together and apart throughout gradeschool, and then, in 8th grade, I somehow ended up in an advanced math class. Brandon was also in this math class (for obvious reasons...he could ace a test in his sleep). How I ended up in this particular class is somewhat of a mystery to me (I think it had something to do with a standardized test I took), but regardless, I was there. And I was CLUELESS.

Brandon and I ended up in the same group in math class. He pushed, pulled, dragged, nudged, coached, and tutored me all through the year. He helped me with my math...and I helped him win the heart of one of my best girlfriends. It was a good deal for both of us. We became good friends. Him lending me his brain, and me lending him my thoughts on how to best woo a woman. :)

Highschool began and we were once again in many of the same classes. He continued to pull me through math class (Algebra 2 being an even bigger nightmare for me than Algebra 1), and our friendship continued to bloom. His love affair with my best girlfriend ended. We were involved in many of the same extra-curricular activities...choir, band, National Honor Society...and we hung with the same group of friends.

Halfway through our junior year of highschool, we realized that perhaps there was more than friendship between us. We became a couple...we attended prom together both our junior and senior years, and spent more and more time together. We were raised in homes that were very different...but it seemed that our differences helped us grow closer...we learned from each other and became best friends.

We decided to attend different colleges. Brandon attended K-State in Manhattan, KS, and I attended William Jewell College in Liberty, MO. We agreed that we weren't going to be tied down to each other...and that if either of us decided to pursue other relationships, that would be okay. We saw each other fairly regularly throughout this year of school, and by the end of the year, both realized that maybe this was more than a highschool romance.

Our junior year of college, I had the opportunity to study overseas in Grantham, England, at Harlaxton College. Brandon came to visit me for my birthday. We had an amazing time together, exploring London and taking in what England had to offer. It was during this visit that Brandon proposed to me. I accepted.

Then began a very LONG engagement. We both needed to finish school....and since that was a ways off for both of us, we weren't quick to set a wedding date. I graduated in May of 1999...and found out on my graduation day that my mother was dying of cancer. She passed away the next month. Brandon was right there with me through it all, not always knowing what to say, but always being very willing to listen. As he offered me his support throughout that time, I realized that I didn't want to wait much longer to be married. The fragility of life had been impressed upon me and I knew that it was time. We decided to get married 6 months later...on December 18, 1999.

Brandon graduated from K-State just a few days before our wedding. He moved up to Kansas City and accepted a job at Sprint. I worked as a Registered Nurse at KU Medical Center. We were together...and very happy.

When I reflect on what life has brought our way over the last nine years, I am simply amazed, particularly with the happenings of this year. Statistically speaking, I believe something like 80% of marriages end in divorce after the loss of a child. I am grateful to say that has never, throughout this whole ordeal, been a consideration for us. We face difficulties together. We laugh together. We cry together. We get angry together. We watch our children grow or leave this earth...together.

What I love most about my husband is the way that he knows me better than anyone else. As a person who is constantly worried about how others perceive me, Brandon is my "safe haven" (this is code for that he gets to deal with a lot of my crap). In turn, I believe that he feels safe sharing his innermost thoughts and dreams with me. He knows me, inside and out, and yet, loves me all the same. My needs come before his own...and vice versa. We work together fairly seamlessly. We are truly best friends.

At our wedding, Pastor Jeff Waugh reflected on Ecclesiastes 4: 9-12. He highlighted the verse that states that "a cord of three strands is not quickly broken". We are grateful that Christ has been the third presence in our marriage...the strand that has been responsible for keeping us together as we've met life's challenges.

I look at our wedding pictures and it makes me grin to realize how innocent we were on that day. I think to myself "if only you knew what you were getting into!". But I am happy to report that even if I had known the challenges life would bring our way, I would have chosen the same helpmate to face them with.

Happy Anniversary, Brandon James. Here's to 900 more.