Three years ago, God blessed me with the most wonderful husband, Adam Donald Galey. I remember the morning of our wedding, flittering around, attending to all the seemingly important details of the day. I earnestly requested for everyone to pray that God would hold off the rain...even though it was an indoor wedding...us southern girls must have the "big hair" for the photos. My mental checklist revolved in my mind--flowers, catering, cake, dress, decor, makeup, pictures...almost a year's worth of planning in anticipation of the "perfect" wedding day.I hear a lot of brides say they did not feel nervous until they started walking down the aisle. For me, it was just the opposite. Every perceived concern melted away as the double doors opened for the bridal procession, a rush of supernatural peace overwhelmed my heart. I even remember specific smiling faces as I was walking down the aisle, but each of those quickly faded once I saw my groom's face. He had tears streaming down his face as I took steps torward him. That was the most vivid memory of the day. In total awe I thought, Adam never cries! Those tears are from his love for me. Wow! It was most definitely the perfect day, but not for the reasons I imagined it to be. And by the way, it did rain a little that day, but I wouldn't even have changed that looking back.
We have shared so much together these past three years. I traveled to another country for the first time in my life on our honeymoon. Adam wanted to surprise me, and would not tell me where we were going until I was on the plane (thankfully, he did let me know it was tropical for packing purposes...sigh of relief...). Even when the pilot announced our destination, I still did not know where we were going. Punta Cana? Where in the world is that? Turns out it is in the Dominican Republic...I still need to brush up on my repertoire of geographical knowledge :P. It was the most beautiful place I have ever seen on earth. I breathed in the warm fragrance of vanilla that permeated the atmosphere. I blissfully ruined months of dieting by digging into culture-rich foods I have never tasted, and tilted my ear to enjoy the linguistic symphony of fellow tourists as they crossed our path--Russian, French, Spanish and countless other cultures that traveled such a distance to enjoy this breathtaking resort. The honeymoon definitely is filed under "the better" label--along with many other memories--of "the better" part of "for better or worse."
We have shared so much together these past three years. I traveled to another country for the first time in my life on our honeymoon. Adam wanted to surprise me, and would not tell me where we were going until I was on the plane (thankfully, he did let me know it was tropical for packing purposes...sigh of relief...). Even when the pilot announced our destination, I still did not know where we were going. Punta Cana? Where in the world is that? Turns out it is in the Dominican Republic...I still need to brush up on my repertoire of geographical knowledge :P. It was the most beautiful place I have ever seen on earth. I breathed in the warm fragrance of vanilla that permeated the atmosphere. I blissfully ruined months of dieting by digging into culture-rich foods I have never tasted, and tilted my ear to enjoy the linguistic symphony of fellow tourists as they crossed our path--Russian, French, Spanish and countless other cultures that traveled such a distance to enjoy this breathtaking resort. The honeymoon definitely is filed under "the better" label--along with many other memories--of "the better" part of "for better or worse."
A couple of years into our marriage, I was introduced to the meaning of "the worse" part of this sacred vow. In less than a month's time span, we were hit by a whole gamut of trials. We endured the passing of my father, job loss, and even flood waters that attempted to invade our kitchen. Adam held me through all of this, and even praised God in the midst of these storms. We saw many miracles during this time. We learned that God really is the source of our financial provision, not man. He supplied us with the exact income we had before--almost to the penny--during the months that Adam was looking for a new job. My father's death pointed me back to the cross, and reminded me of my purpose on earth. The day of my dad's funeral we gathered all the beautiful flower arrangements and headed to the Alabaster nursing home. Adam, conscious of his role as protector, asked if really felt up for this, but amazingly I did. We just went from room to room and gave these precious elderly ladies flowers and told them, "Jesus loves you." I will never forget the last woman I gave flowers to. She had red hair, probably weighed less than 90 pounds, and one of her eyes was closed shut. I held her hand and said, "Jesus wants you to have these flowers. He loves you." She squeezed my hand and began to weep. I felt so much love and healing, and will never forget that moment. God shaped us during these trials to bring us to a whole new level of faith marked by unshakeable peace.
I have learned so far in marriage, that like my surprise honeymoon, you may not be familiar with where you are headed...perhaps you even communicate in different languages. However, you will smell and taste new experiences together...and the journey will always be worth the distance you travelled to get there, if you allow Jesus to be your pilot. ♥ I am so thankful for you, Adam! I love you with all of my heart...Happy 3rd anniversary! Here's to many more!! ♥
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