When I first looked him in the eyes, I knew that he was a special man, like no other I had come across. It was my first day as a student librarian assistant at Alden Library, and something about him was refreshing. All the librarians seemed to adore him, and I could sense a gentleness about him. I also couldn’t help but think he was handsome, and I hoped he had similar feelings about me. As he introduced himself to me, he commented on how beautiful my name and I was flattered.I could only talk for a few minutes because we were switching shifts, but something in me hoped that we would get to spend more time together in the future. I was slightly nervous after the abusive previous relationship I had left, but after having had time to heal, I decided to take another chance. Sure enough, three weeks later we were able to work together and that is when everything worked out perfectly. I could tell that I was going to have a special relationship with Robbie and I was excited to see where it would go. When we worked together, I felt like I had known him all my life, even though we were just getting to know each other. The Holy Spirit gave me assurance that he was a good once to pursue, and now we are married. He truly is my soulmate, and we understand each other well. We both have had to endure the woes of abuse in this lifetime, so we both vow to never hurt each other the way others have hurt us. I’ve never had such a connection with anyone else in my life.
It has been a year since we said I do, and this past year has been nothing short of amazing. I have truly been blessed to have married my best friend, and I am so thankful that we can share a life together. Marriage is one of the best gifts from God, and it is a beautiful thing. It certainly isn’t all flowers and sunshine, but with God you can overcome any obstacles that life throws. Our first year of marriage had many trials, some more than other newlyweds have to endure. However, God helped us through each one and our marriage grew stronger as we loved each other through each trial. The first one came right as soon as we got back from our honeymoon. My husband had been laid off for about a month already, and was applying for jobs left and right. He was getting interviews, but no offers. I had to travel to Columbus to work a second job while also being a graduate student supervisor at Alden Library, so that we could get by. There were times we had to several days without seeing each other. I also had a struggle with depression that made it hard to even get out of the bed some days. I was so happy to be married, yet I had barely enough energy to work and take care of the pets the first few weeks. Panic attacks were really bad some days, that I would crawl to bed when one came on because my chest burned so bad. It was so strange as I never really struggled with depression before, but thankfully I overcame that phase. Also, about two months in, God provided a job for Robbie. It wasn’t a dream job, but it was a job that helped pay bills. Things were finally getting good until I got a call the last week of September that would be life changing. It was from my mom. My dad couldn’t get off the couch and she knew that something was majorly wrong.
We made our way to Columbus as soon as we could, and the next day we found out that my dad had a second stroke(he had one when I was 12). My mom saw him almost die more than once as the doctors struggled to regulate his blood pressure. He could barely talk and move half of his body. For two weeks doctors struggled daily to find a way to regulate his blood pressure. I stayed with my sister 12 hours at a time, as she can’t handle hospital atmospheres with her special needs. Robbie would come see us when he was off of work and we stayed at my parents house to support my sister and mom on and off for about a month. I still worked on my Masters while all of this was going on, and I knew God would eventually shine sunlight at the end of this massive storm. When my dad began to heal, it was apparent there would need to be someone else to help with my sister because he would no longer be able to do it. That’s when Robbie and I knew that we needed to move to Columbus. We still had several months left at our place in Athens and it was so hard to find subletters, but we trusted God. Then it happened, one weekend after watching my sister for a while, we toured places that we might live at in the upcoming summer, or if God made a way for us to move sooner..and he did make a way. That following Monday we told our landlord all that was going on, and she put out ads trying to get our place rented for us. It was a blessing in itself to have a nice landlord like her. She would talk your ears off for hours and was very pleasant. A few days later, a nice couple came who needed to move in 2 weeks or less, and wanted our place. So we were able to move to Columbus to be closer to my family, and God blessed us with a much nicer place to rent than our first place. Robbie’s job let him transfer to a location in Columbus, so that was a blessing too. Slowly but surely my dad made progress, and he has come a long way. God is good all the time.
The next trial would be the car accident. While working, my hubby had a fender bender that totalled his car. It was very stressful and we felt as though there was no hope, but we clinged to God’s truth that he would provide all of our needs. God never lets his children down, and He didn’t let us down. About a month and a half of wondering how we were going to fix the situation. God made a way for us to get a new car. He also has alas answered our prayer about a job in Robbie’s field too. He also made a way for us to enjoy a great one year anniversary trip, allowing me to finally meet Dolphins, go the Bahamas, and experience a cruise. Our God is such a good God. We had to wait a year for God to open the doors, but he did. Sometimes he tells us to wait, and that is the hardest thing. But friends, God always has good for those who put their trust in Him and His Son Jesus. Now that I’ve spoke about some trials we’ve overcome, I’d love to share some special things about our first year together :)
Our first few months of marriage were a learning curve, but it was a fun one. Learning how to live together and make decisions together is a cool experience. We also enjoyed many summer evening walks together with Luke, and some of the other dogs we fostered. We had a border collie for a bit, and we would have kept her had she not had some resource guarding issues when it came to Robbie. She knew better than to growl at me, but she wouldn’t let any other person near him besides me, and she bossed Luke and Chloe around too much lol. She has a great home at a farm though, so she still lucked out. It was cool to have a border collie for a few days. Our next foster was a dachshund mix that looked a lot like Luke. Lady was really sweet, but she was so scared of everything that she would hold her bladder for days at a time. We knew a busy apartment with dogs everywhere wouldn’t be an environment she would thrive in, so she found another foster. Then we had a pomeranian for awhile, named Leia. Leia was really cute, but she didn’t like Luke. No matter what we tried. She lives with a friend now and I get updates, which I love. One day we would love another dog, but for now we are content with our dog and the kitties. But hey, it was a learning experience and fun too. Another fun thing was learning meals we loved together and decorating our place together. Being able to shop together and explore town together has also been lovely. Oh, and my favorite is simply being able to share a life story with a great person. Someone who gets me, who loves me completely, who treats me well, who is my best friend. Cuddling together giggling and having life conversations has to be one of my favorite activities. I am so thankful God gave me a lovely man to call my husband. Here’s to one year of marriage and a lifetime of more :).
