Laughter Along The Journey (Excerpt)

Most girls grow up with grand career plans, I however only dreamed of being a wife and mother. It wasn’t a half thought out desire, but a full on driving force in my life. At the age of 14, I met the most amazing guy. He was the president of my church youth group. He was older and wiser than myself. I was smitten by him and became his friend and confidant. He would come to me about his girl friend troubles and I would set him straight on what to do. Well, as the days past he noticed me as a bright, lovely young girl who was in love with him. It is common knowledge that there is nothing more attractive than when someone is in love with you.

I am amazed at how each of us are born with a blueprint of who we are and what we are meant to be. There is a world of opportunity for every person on the face of the earth, but only one specific thing that each of us are meant for and that is to love God. As His creation, we were made to worship and love Him. However, because of His love for us—He created us with a certain bend to be something special. He created within us the dreams and desires to fulfill the purpose etched within our beings. Just as Jeremiah 29:10-11 (MSG) states, “…I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.” Sadly, I did not realize this gift until I was much older and a bit wiser.

To fast forward time a bit—he asked me to marry him when I was 18. (This is where the memories begin that have been such a hilarious part of my life with my sweet family.) It was on our honeymoon to Walt Disney World, and we were driving through the orange groves that my first naïve question was asked.  I was trying to understand the sight I was seeing out of the window.  I swallowed hard and asked my new husband as seriously as I could, “Honey, why do all the orange trees have antennas?” Steve burst into laughter and made me repeat what I said. “Why do the orange trees have antennas?” Still laughing he responded as serious as he could in response to my question with this reply, “Oh, those are T.V. antennas for the ground hogs.” I looked at him very confused, then realized that he was making fun of me. Finally, when he could catch his breath, he told me that they were for irrigation. Well, I felt so dumb, but not in a negative, bad way—I just realized that I had so much to learn about the world around me.

Finding that special someone is a daunting task to say the least, especially when you are young and really don’t know what you want or even what you need in a spouse. Let me just encourage you to take this decision very seriously. Marriage is supposed to be a forever commitment. It isn’t a trip to the grocery store checking out all the possibilities, flavors and intriguing items. Marriage isn’t meant to have a return policy. Stepping out and claiming to give your whole being to one special person is a vow before God and a commitment to work through the good, bad, and the ugly. The Bible says in Ephesians 5:31, (NIV) “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” So it seems that this is a vital choice that requires more than desire and want, but a seeking to find the best possible person with which to spend the rest of your life.