Pastries and Pemberley
On this day 2 years ago I was eating a bagel and drinking a cup of tea waiting to get my hair and make-up done. JJ had already been by to drop off some letters to our friend Lynlee to give me throughout the day. He wrote one letter for each hour preceding our ceremony. It was the beginning of a Disneyesque, magical day! Before that special day, there were a string of ordinary days.
I met an ordinary boy one night at Fusion, the young adults group at our church. We found out later that we had met before, but didn’t remember each other. We met at a Kids’ Ministry meeting, and the only thing I remembered about JJ was that he was the only one that ate any pastries. It’s a wonder I didn’t jump into his arms right then and ask him to take me to Pemberley! “Pastries and Pemberley” the long lost work of Jane Austen…Nothing about meeting this man named JJ stuck out to me. I didn’t get intense butterflies or experience faintness at the sight of him. What was different about it was how natural it felt.
JJ also met my friend Lauren that night, and they became fast friends. He had feelings for her, and I encouraged her to go for it because he seemed like a really great guy. Lauren thought JJ and I should be together. I just didn’t see it. I thought he was a sweet guy, but I just didn’t think of him like that. I remember Lauren and I talking outside my car when she told me that. I looked up into the night sky and contemplated what I was about to say, making sure it wouldn’t come back to bite me. I turned to Lauren and said, “I can safely say that JJ and I will never date.” There was my Jane Austen moment at last! I just didn’t know it at the time.
Soon after I went to Night of Joy with a group of friends that just happened to include JJ. We hung out most of the night thanks to our friend Jessica. She had us ride almost every ride together...not suspicious at all. After that JJ began texting me non-stop. It was very strange for me because usually all the guys I liked required me to be someone else in one way or another, or highlight one thing about myself while hiding a mass of other characteristics. There is a line in Bridget Jones’s Diary where Mark Darcy tells Bridget that even with all her faults and quirks, “I like you very much. Just as you are.” Girls swoon at that because I think more than anything else we want to be seen and loved for the person we are: the good, the beautiful, the ugly, and the quirks that encompass us.
Texting non-stop led to hanging out non-stop. With that came butterflies in my stomach and permanent smile lines. JJ was the best boyfriend. Leaving romantic notes on my car, surprising me with small meaningful presents, making me delicious meals like manicotti, and always being there for me when I wanted and needed him. As my husband he has only found more ways to love me. Before anyone thinks I’m describing a perfect relationship, I’m not. We make lots of mistakes, but I feel JJ’s love for me even more when I don’t deserve it. I know even at my worst he still loves me. JJ’s love for me has helped me understand God’s love more deeply and been even more in awe of Him.
WARNING: About to get a little emo and a whole lot lovey dovey. You have been warned. As I listen to Love Never Fails (the song I walke
d down the aisle to), I remember the moment my ordinary boy became my husband, my partner, my encourager, my official BFF, and my extraordinary man. JJ was worth the wait. He was worth every tear I cried as I prayed for the man that God would someday bless me with. God outdid “my list” when He blessed me with him as my forever love.
As I look back on our wedding day, I’m so thankful for the joyful celebration we shared with family and friends. I’ll remember looking at JJ and feeling like the whole day was a dream. I will remember driving in the golf carts with close friends to take photos, and looking over and seeing baby deer and their families grazing and jumping gleefully. I wasn’t kidding about the whole Disney vibe! As Buddy the Elf says, “Smiling is my favorite.” Today on our anniversary, I smile as I think about the string of ordinary days that we’ve shared every day since that wonderful December 23rd.
Check out the awesome video our friend Logan Peralta did of our wedding! I never get tired of watching it.