One Month Down, a Lifetime to Go...

So, in thinking about what to write today, I came up with the title "One Month Down, a Lifetime to Go". Today marks exactly one month that I've been married!

Having the title to my blog post, doesn't necessarily mean I know what I'm going to write about though. For me, writing a blog is a journey. I may start one place, discover some cool things along the way, but end up in a completely different place. So now, on to the journey!

I have to say that marriage isn't bad at all. I have someone to come home to every night who is just as happy to see me as I am to see her. Some people reach this same fulfillment by having a dog, but Adriane is a far cry from a dog! Trust me, she is 100% woman!

So after one month, I have 5 conclusions I can now safely make:

1. I'm really really happy!
2. I have the most awesome wife in the world!
3. I have no regrets about getting married or who I married.
4. I wish I would have taken the plunge sooner, as long as it would have involved Adriane.
5. I truly believe that the "lifetime" we have left to live will be filled with more joy and happiness than sadness and despair.

I wanna discuss my fifth conclusion a little more in depth. So when I think about the lifetime of things that Adriane and I will experience in the next 80 years, my head spins! I first think about how happy we're going to be when our children are born. I can only imagine how happy a time of life that will be for us! Then I think about the loss of our parents, and I can't imagine the amount of pain that will be.

Next I think about the excitement associated with our child's first step, their first day of school, their graduation day from high school and college, their wedding day, and the day they bring our first grandchild home from the hospital. It is then that I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that life surely holds more happiness for us than sadness.

When I think of the future, and all it holds, I always remember this Bible verse:

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Jeremiah 29:11

It is for all these reasons that I have to encourage anyone out there feeling despair and sadness that times may be hard now, but in the end, the happiness will surely outweigh the sadness, especially if God has anything to do with it.

How Much Does God Love Me?

Wow, now that's a loaded question! I guess there are so many answers to this question that I could never even dream of putting all them on this blog. If I did, there would obviously be things like "He sent his only Son to die for me so I don't have to go to hell for all me sins", and "He's given me a great family, lots of friends, and a really great life".

Have you ever experienced a single moment in time where you felt "Holy Crap! God really really loves me more than I could ever imagine!"? If you know me personally, then you probably know that I have a t-shirt that my wife gave me while we were dating that says "Jesus Loves You, but I'm His Favorite". So how does God make everyone feel like they are His favorite? For me, it was on my Wedding day. The feeling is hard for me to describe, since I don't have any words for it other than overwhelming, and even that doesn't do it justice.

After months and months of planning for my wedding day, everything was coming together perfectly. All that was in my control, or that could be solved by a little extra effort on my or my wife's part, or even with a little extra money applied, was already done. There was only one thing left that even the most educated people in the world cannot predict with any amount of certainty. That one thing was the weather.

I have always wanted a big part of my wedding/reception to occur somewhat outdoors. One of the reasons we didn't get married in the fall of 2008, was that we couldn't obtain the perfect reception site. Our first choice, second choice, third choice, and fourth choice were all already taken. When you get married, you should NOT compromise on any of the desires of your heart, or you may regret it for the rest your life.

So although we could have had complete control of the reception by having it 100% indoors, it wouldn't have been what we had wanted. So we had to relinquish control of one thing in a trade-off for one of the desires of our hearts. We hoped and prayed that on April 18th 2009, the weather would be perfect for a reception that would take place at the Yorktown waterfront.

April 18th, 2009 arrived. My task, along with my groomsmen on the morning of the wedding, was to setup the site for the reception. We arrived at the Yorktown freight shed at 10:00 AM to meet the rental company, which was bringing the tables and chairs, and the florist with their flowers .

I spent the next 3 hours there setting up, waiting, and even relaxing a bit in between. Of course I was amazed at the perfect weather that we were experiencing. It was supposed to be 74 degrees that day, and low humidity. Just 10 days previously, the weatherman was predicting rain, rain, rain.

It wasn't until I was on my way home to get my tux on and head to my wedding, that I had a moment I'll never forget. I was in my car driving, thinking about everything that was about to transpire that day and I felt God say to me "This is how much I Love you! On the most important day of your life, I wanna give you the best weather you can imagine as a wedding present from your Father in heaven".

Can you believe that!? The Almighty God who holds the universe in his hands, and takes care of every individual on our planet stopped by on my wedding day to let me know that He loves me! Somehow, in the overwhelming moment of Him showing me how much He loves me, I knew that nothing could go wrong on the most important day of my life. God loves me "that" much!