A Love Story

¹⁸ The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him."

¹⁹ Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. ²⁰ So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals.

But for Adam no suitable helper was found. ²¹ So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. ²² Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.

²³ The man said,
"This is now bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called 'woman,'
for she was taken out of man."

²⁴ For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.

Genesis 2: 18-24


Once upon a time...

Eight years ago today my husband and I started dating. He had just turned 15, I had just turned 16. We had a German class together the year before and I hadn't paid him that much attention. HE swears he had a crush on me the whole year, but I have my doubts about that. But when I walked into class the next year- whew! I'll honestly admit that I started dating him because I thought he was good looking. He was a tall, pale skinny thing, which if you know me well enough, you know is just my type. But he wasn't all skin and bones, he was a year round soccer player and he had these legs, well... oh my. And some blue eyes, beautiful blue eyes. Anyway, back to the story. I was notorious for going through boyfriends quickly. Some say I was too picky, I say I just knew what I wanted, and had not found it yet. My friends gave Jacob, a quiet, shy guy, about 2 weeks before I left him. I could see why, he and I did not seem to have much in common, but hey, he was pale and skinny.

Well it turned out he was more than just my type. He was funny. Really funny. And he was smart. Really smart. And I got along with him better than anyone I had ever known. So we kept dating. It was only three months later that I realized that I loved him as I had never loved anyone, and probably always would. He felt the same. By Christmas if he had asked me to marry him, I would have said yes. But he didn't, that would have been a bit extreme. But it was always understood between us that I was meant to be his wife, and that was that. Breaking up was not an option, and was never considered. We were just meant to be together, and we both knew it.

He asked me to marry him while he was still a senior in high school, on Thanksgiving Day. I knew he had a ring, I had found it in his "super sneaky" hiding place- the glove box. We had only discussed getting married after high school, so I was thrilled, and surprised! He asked me to marry him on the beach of Lake Barkley where he had first told me he loved me, two years previously. I said yes without hesitation and we were married the following August, five days after Jacob's 18th birthday. We had been dating for three years. What had been planned as a large wedding (with extensive help from my mother) ended up a very small wedding (with extensive help from my mother). We only invited (with very few exceptions) those who had never expressed displeasure at our marriage. It was our day and we wanted to be surrounded by people who were truly happy for us. I'm sure we raised some eyebrows by getting married so young, but we were very sure of our decision! We were married by a close family friend, on a beautiful Friday morning at a small park that overlooks the river. It was perfect, so started off our lives together in a perfect sort of way.

In all the years I have loved Jacob, I have never once questioned that he was without a doubt the man that God made for me. He has brought me endless joy and laughter, is supportive beyond comprehension, is patient when I am unreasonable, loves me unconditionally and is the best father to Sophie I could ever hope for. He far surpasses any dream I ever had of what a husband should be, and he has earned all the love and respect I posses time and time again. I feel privileged that God made me to be his partner, Even in our worst days, I have never regretted agreeing to share my life with him. And that, my friends, makes us happily ever after.