"Every love story is beautiful, but ours is my favorite". Thats probably a quote that most women would one hundred percent agree with. I am definitely a part of that "most women" category. Today is our second wedding anniversary. I know we haven't been married long (especially compared to those people out there who have been together for fifty plus years) but every time our anniversary rolls around, I love reflecting back on how it all began for us. I may be a little biased, but I do believe that our love story is something very special and very different than most people. But the reason why our love story is so amazing, is because you can definitely see God's hand in bringing us together. There are so many tiny details and decisions that had to be made at a precise time in order for our lives to cross paths. While Joe and I didn't meet until I was a senior in college, our story begins back in high school...
Joe grew up in the small town of Travelers Rest, South Carolina and attended Hampton Park Christian school from kindergarten to twelfth grade. He graduated in 2005 with a pretty small class so he was close with most of his classmates. Several of his classmates decided to go to Christian colleges but, in order for us to ever have met, the decision of one of his classmates named Julie to attend Northland Baptist Bible College was crucial (you'll understand why as the story continues). Joe had already decided that he was going to join the Army after high school. Both his father and his older brothers had served and he felt led to enlist as well. He went through boot camp and was stationed in Hawaii for a couple years before he was told that he would be deploying to Iraq in 2007.
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Back in the small rural town of Elverson, Pennsylvania, I was completing my senior year at Twin Valley High School. I had transferred to Twin Valley my junior year, and while I made some great friends, I wouldn't say that I was especially close to anyone. It was tough transferring in to a new school and by the time your junior year rolls around, your pretty set with your group of friends. It didn't help that I was extremely shy when I was in high school and had a hard time opening up to others. After graduation, I still didn't know exactly where I wanted to attend college and what I wanted to major in. I eventually ended up enrolling at the local community college but only attended there for a semester. Over the course of the next year and a half, I attended two different colleges. Every summer I worked at a summer camp. For two years, I was the horse wrangler at High Point Camp. My last summer there, I met a great group of people who attended Clearwater Christian College. I had a blast with them and decided to change colleges once again, so I moved to Florida to finish out my degree in Secondary English Education.
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| Working as a wrangler at High Point Camp. Spreading hay for the horses! |
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| My favorite horse was Macon- he LOVED to go swimming in the lake! |
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| more camp fun with fellow Clearwater Friends! |
My first year at Clearwater was tough. I got into a little bit of trouble which made me re-evaluate my life and where I was headed. I started dating a guy who I was absolutely head over heels with. He ended up breaking it off with me the summer before my senior year of college. It was hard, but I learned a lot about myself and now, looking back, it was probably one of the best things that has ever happened to me. So going into my senior year, I decided NO BOYS. I just wanted to hang out with friends and enjoy my last year of college.
During my senior year, I roomed with my friend, Jen, who was from Oahu, Hawaii. We became very close and did pretty much everything together. She was aware of all the trouble I had gotten in before, and how heart broken I was over the break up I experienced over the summer. She also knew how important the military was to me. My brother had just returned from a tour in Iraq, and I had shared with Jen how I had missed sending packages and supporting a group of soldiers overseas. She then informed me that she knew of a guy who was currently serving in Iraq that she had met at her church in Hawaii. See, before Jen attended Clearwater, she went to school at Northland Baptist Bible College and knew Joe's classmate, Julie, from high school. Julie had asked Jen to get in touch with Joe (since he was stationed in Hawaii) and help him find a good church. So now, Jen started to play matchmaker for me. Jen got in touch with Joe and told him about me. We started talking through facebook messages, which turned into facebook chat, which eventually turned into phone calls. At first, I just enjoyed being there for a soldier. More than once, Joe told me he just appreciated talking to me. It kept him grounded while he was over there; it reminded him that he would eventually be coming home to a "normal" life once again. But somewhere after the second month of talking, things began to change. I began looking forward to these phone calls and checking my facebook often, hoping for a message from him. I began to become seriously worried and concerned when I didn't hear from him after he had told me he was going on a mission. But, I didn't want him to know my feelings were changing. I didn't want to ruin what we had, especially for him. I didn't want him to become distracted or annoyed while he was overseas.
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| Jen and I |
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| late night studying for finals |
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| Basketball nationals |
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| College graduates! |
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| Hawaiian tradition |
But everything was all put out on the table in October of 2008. I was on a soccer trip to Atlanta when I got a phone call from Joe late one night. He was going on a mission the next day and wanted to talk before he left. We talked about everything and anything. Towards the end of our conversation, Joe dropped the "L" word. He told me he loved me. I was blown away and didn't quite know how to respond. I hadn't even technically met this guy and he was saying he loved me; yet, I oddly felt the same way. But how could that be? Again, we hadn't even met! I asked him if he realized what he had just said. How strong that word was. He explained to me that he knew exactly what he was talking about. He told me that when death has stared him in the face several times while going on these mission, you don't want to have any regrets. Your view on life and what is important changes. So he told me he did love me. And he understood exactly what he was saying.
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| The soccer trip where the "love" word was dropped for the first time! |
After that conversation, everything changed for us. I knew then that I was going to marry this man. After he returned from Iraq and was able to go on leave, I flew up to South Carolina and met him at the airport where we met for the first time. It was as if we had known each other for years. We were completely comfortable around each other and things just felt right. I spent my spring break with him and then he flew back to Hawaii. Once I graduated from college in May, I flew out there to be with him.
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| Seeing one another for the first time |
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| what a wonderful day |
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| first kiss! |
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| Seriously one of the best days ever. I will never forget it! |
And the rest is history. We were engaged in October of '09 and married June 4, 2010. Most of our relationship has been spent apart. While dating, Joe was in Iraq and Hawaii. While engaged, Joe was in Florida and I was in Pennsylvania. While married, Joe has been gone for training at several different schools for months at a time and has been gone on several missions as well. This year, on our anniversary, Joe is gone on a mission. Next year, on our anniversary, Joe will be deployed. While we aren't able to spend much time together, I wouldn't change anything about our relationship. It isn't quite a "normal" marriage, according to most people, but its perfect for us. And if you know Joe, he wouldn't want us to be "normal" either. He is all about being different!
Two years ago today, I was so blessed to marry a man who truly makes me happy. Who loves me and makes sacrifices for me endlessly. I married a man who is unbelievably selfless. He has the biggest heart and cares deeply for people. We have so much fun just being completely crazy together. He is an incredible leader in our marriage and I respect him so much. I love him more than anything and look forward to many more anniversaries, whether they are spent celebrating together or apart.
Thank you for two amazing years, Joe. I love you and I love our story that we share!
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| June 4, 2010 |
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| June 4, 2011 |
