I can't believe it's July already. There's no way we've already been married for almost a year. Then again, how has it only been one year? I feel like I've been married for many more than that! Anyway, I decided that for this month, I'm going to do more posts reflecting on our first year of marriage, things I've learned, memories, stories, or anything else that comes to mind - all revolving around Curtis & I. We've been so blessed this first year, and we have both grown in so many ways, and I want to remember these things for the rest of my life. I can't wait to look back on this on our 110th wedding anniversary. ;)
I'll start this off with what has been my "motto" before I got married, and what it's been since marriage. Back in high school, I read a biography about Jim Elliot. There were lots of things about him that stood out to me. Back then, the biggest takeaway for me was his advice on marriage and how to know if you've found "the one". In my own words, it was something like "Discover yourself, and find the path that God wants you to be on. Once you are following His plan for your life, He will bring someone else alongside you who has the same interests and goals." At that point, I already liked Curtis, and knew I wanted to end up with him… but I wasn't sure if we had the same goals and if we could really be a good match. God always knows best though - He knew that all it would take was a couple years of maturing and some time living 1600 miles apart to transform us into who He intended us to become, and in that, we both became better people for each other. Now we're at the really fun part - growing closer to each other and God, together!
Since getting married though, another quote from Jim Elliot has been in my mind constantly. It's pretty simple and well-known, but I still find myself going back and thinking about it. "Wherever you are, be all there." The hardest part for me during the first months of marriage was having to move out of my parent's house and hometown - where I had lived my whole life - and move to a totally new place. Curtis was really the only one I had. This turned out to be a great way for us to grow closer together and create our new family, but of course I missed my family (and still do!) Whenever I would start to wish I could be with someone back home, I would remind myself that no matter how I felt about living here, I was only going to be here so long, so I should try and enjoy every day. The more I focused on enjoying my new husband and new home, the happier I would be, and the more I grew to love Arizona.
Of course, being a Navy wife, this will probably be something I'll always have to remember. I expect to fall in love with many places, people, and experiences that we'll have. I have always been so bad at goodbyes, and I know they will never get easier - whether it's saying goodbye to family after visits, friends when we move, or Curtis when he is gone for several months. I know that God has every day of my life planned out, and everything has a purpose - all I can do is trust Him and enjoy whatever he has given me today while I am here. Instead of thinking and wishing for things to come, I need to be completely present in today and enjoy this tremendous blessing God has given me - my husband!
Thanks, Curtis, for letting me come enjoy your world down here, and thanks to all our friends for welcoming me and helping make this place such an exciting home!
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