This is us. Not the awesome new tv show, but us, Erich and Lahni. This picture was our beginning as husband and wife, and it describes us perfectly. What it doesn't show is the immense payback this man received shortly after this photo was taken. That's right, I DID get him back. Let's just say a napkin didn't cut it for him. However, before we move on to the
Ever After part, let me back up to give you a brief rundown of the beginning.
He was 20 and I was 17. (Yes, we were young, and no, I wasn't pregnant. Just throwing that out there.) We got married at 8:00 on a Thursday night. I was in a red tropical sundress, and he wore a pair of red board shorts and a Hawaiian shirt. We sent out an open invitation to everyone we knew, but expected a very small showing. (Come on, it was a Thursday night!) Instead, it was standing room only! We had cake (as you saw), fruit salad, and some fruit punch. The cost of our wedding was a whopping $350. Afterwards we went home, and did what any other young couple would do - ordered pizza, and ripped open our wedding presents of course! The next morning we took off to Costa Rica. We were young, in love, and did whatever we wanted.
Fastforward through a handful of crazy years. I can say fast forward now, but during those years it was as if life was stuck in slow motion. Anyone who has gone through tough times knows exactly what I'm talking about. Though the details vary, every journey has its challenges. As for those two crazy kids? We grew up, got it together, and found out we were expecting our first child. Which at the time I was convinced was to be our only child. Yeah, I know.
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| Admit it, there are days! |
To date, it's been 17 years since I said, "I do," 12 years since I found out we were expecting our 1st, and 16 months since the delivery of our 6th. A lot of life has happened since we began our
Ever After adventure, and we are looking forward to much more. It hasn't all been rainbows and unicorns, and I know our future holds real life issues as well, and I'm ok with that. If I think back to the times in our lives when we have grown the most, it hasn't been in the easiest or happiest of times. If we're honest, sometimes the more painful parts of life produce the most growth. As we come through the trials that life sometimes throws at us, the hope is to be stronger because of it. Thus making the next battle a bit easier, or perhaps at least bearable. He has an amazing life planned for you! So, don't let the hardships that happen keep you from living it!
After all,
Ever After is not some end all that occurs once true love and happiness are achieved. It's happening right now, whatever season you might be in. So, the question is, what does that look like? What do you want it to look like? You fill in the blank. We asked ourselves this years ago, and we didn't like the answer. So, do you know what we did? we changed it. It took effort, time, and LOTS of prayer, but it happened. Now, I have more than one blank. I think about this often, and I love words, so I like to change it up daily! (Just ask the husband.) But enough of my story, go write yours! Whichever
Ever After journey you're on, may you pursue it wisely, grip it strongly, and enjoy it happily. We only get one life here. Let's make it count!
Until next time, Beautiful.
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| A couple that preaches together...well, learns a lot! |
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| Our story continues... |
