Today, Dave and I celebrate our sweet sixteenth wedding anniversary! (WOO-HOO!!) (Well, Dave says we have to wait until 1:30 p.m. Central Time before it’s official…..lol)
We are so very thankful to the Lord for granting us the time together that He has, and we always pray He glorify Himself in our marriage, and that He might draw others to Christ through us!
To give a little background, Dave and I met at the church we both attended. We got “thrown” onto the same church softball team at the last minute. My name had somehow been placed on two rosters, and, little did we know it, our whole future was straddling between two pieces of paper. Our friend, Dorothy, was the one who made the decision to put me on the team Dave was on, so she holds the title of being our match maker 🙂 I had played bobby sox softball in 6th grade but not much since then, so I was pretty rusty and insecure about it. At the first practice, Dave and I ended up being each other’s warm up catch partner. I will never forget how kind and patient he was with me. I was throwing the ball all over the place, and he was just steady and respectful and rolled with it. Over the course of the summer, we became friends, and then started dating, and got married almost exactly two years after our first date:
That summer as we slowly became friends, we made discovery after discovery of how like-minded we were, how our upbringings were extremely similar, how we went to the same church at different times growing up, how both of our families were very musical, and our shared love for, of all things, barbershop music. We had both sung in barbershop groups in our youth:
And we had a roving barbershop quartet sing before and after our wedding ceremony 🙂
The list goes on and on and on…..
Backing up a bit, I remember that summer on my 38th birthday, my family took me out for a wonderful birthday brunch, and one of my gifts was a gorgeous frog prince statue to remind me that my Prince Charming was out there, I just hadn’t met him yet. I was kind of discouraged, and this was a very thoughtful gift that reminded me “he” was out there! That very afternoon, I got a voicemail from Dave, my new friend on the softball team, asking if I wanted to go to the batting cages with him and his buddy. That was the start of a beeeeeeeeutiful friendship…..
On a side note, I recently found one of my journals that spanned that period of time. I had made the decision a few months beforehand to stop dating and looking for the right guy and focus on my Christian walk and on Christ. I believe God was drawing me to Himself and honored those months of diligently seeking Him and focusing on Him alone. In that journal, I had written down all of the qualities I was looking for in a Godly husband, and when I was reading it the other day, I realized that Dave met every single quality, and I had to laugh and thank God that He did such a better job at finding a husband for me than I could have.
Over the course of those two years of dating, the Lord brought us through some heavy-duty theological issues, and any one of them probably would have been a deal breaker for our relationship, but the Lord seemed to bring us both along and establish a strong, like-minded, Christ-centered bond. It was something I had not experienced in a relationship before, and we both recognized the precious, life-long value of it.
We look back and are astonished that God preserved both of us through a lot of self-inflicted detours and curve balls in each of our lives before bringing us together.
Our worldview had started to change over the course of our dating years, and we knew after we got married, all bets were off and we were probably on our way into uncharted territory. On our wedding day, we had the theme to the Indiana Jones movie play as our recessional, and after our fathers had pronounced us husband and wife (both of our fathers officiated the ceremony), they said in unison “Let the adventure begin!” Don’t believe me? Here is that wedding video clip!
And we have NOT been disappointed!
About two years later and after much prayer and consideration, we left our corporate jobs in Silicon Valley and moved to Texas to start our own homestead and live near like-minded Christian families. Our first two years together in California were like introducing our two rabbits, Buttercup and Derbie, and watching them get used to living together and bonding and having a ton of fun together. Yes, it really was a life of bunnies and lollipops. Well, bunnies and Cold Stone Creamery ice cream, to be exact 🙂
After moving to Texas it was like throwing Buttercup and Derbie into the path of a predator and watching them cling together for dear life. LOL! I say that partly joking. But the next fourteen years have proven to be the hardest, yet most precious and spiritually rewarding years yet. And I am in awe as I have watched my husband cling to Christ in times of heartache, difficulty, trial and testing. You talk about throwing monkey wrenches into newly married life. We went from a life of ease and uber-convenience to:
- Living off grid (we lived for 10 years in our 5th wheel trailer before moving into our house, and its amenities actually did help us transition)
- No piped-in running water
- No grid electricity, only solar
- No air conditioning (well, just a smidge the first 1 or 2 summers 🙂 )
- Learning to live and get along in a close-knit Church community with many different personalities
- Texas weather!
And we have cultivated trying to find God’s working hand of providence, and maybe some humor (Dave makes me laugh all…the…time), in just about anything to keep things in perspective.
In the years we have lived an off-grid homesteading life, Dave has amazed me by rolling up his tech-geek sleeves and truly building a homestead from scratch. And I mean scratch. He is one of the most hard working people I have ever met. He has built a wonderful home for us (with God-sent assistance thoughout), including all kinds of clever inventions to handle all of our quirky farm needs. He never, ever ceases to amaze me. There is never a Honey-do list because as soon as I mention something, he’s on it! My mother and father-in-law did a wonderful job of bringing up both of their sons as kind, responsible, resourceful gentlemen. I love my in-laws dearly, as well.
Most importantly, God ordained for me a husband who would lovingly and patiently be my catch partner in life. A man to speak to my struggles and weaknesses and help me in them, to encourage me and walk alongside me into the unknowns of life. Don’t get me wrong, this lifestyle can definitely bring out the worst in us, but, I have seen the Holy Spirit slowly and consistently, with all grace, mercy and love, sand away those raw edges in Dave, increasingly manifested by:
- Consistently modeling Christ to me, loving me as Christ loves the Church
- Leading me in family worship every evening
- Choosing charity (love) every day
- Choosing forgiveness and praying for God not to hold an offense to someone’s account (that is a hard prayer)
- Trusting more and more in God’s sovereignty
- Helping me set boundaries to keep my carnal man in check
Dave makes it easy to submit, as I am called to do as his wife. He helps me want to be a better help meet to Him, and we help each other put on the full armor of God each day.
Dave has been and continues to be the biggest gift in my life, after Christ. I am eternally grateful for the one whom my soul loveth in this life. This sixteenth anniversary is so very sweet, indeed!
All thanks, praise and glory to God!
Susan
Aww! That was lovely!!! Happy anniversary and May God grant you many more to come!
Awesome!
Hi karlb!
Thank you! And thank you for stopping by!
Hi Adele! We're so glad you enjoyed the blog post and thank you so much for your anniversary blessings and wishes!! We really appreciate it!
Very beautifully written! I did not know the story of David & Susan! But now I do! May God continue to bless and keep you! Happy Anniversary!
Wow what an amazing view of y'alls life. God Bless You Both And Happy Anniversary!
Hi Justin! Thank you so much for your kind words and for taking the time to say Hello. God bless you my Coleman friend!
Hi Mike! Thank you very much! And congratulations on your son's recent wedding! May God bless you, Stacey and your family. Thanks for saying Hi!
Sue and Dave
It is such a blessing to be married to the one that God intended for you. May you have many, many more years to rejoice in the gift! Sending hugs and more hugs. LL
Hello LL!
Yes, indeed, we feel tremendously blessed. Thank you very much for your well wishes and blessings! May God bless you.
Sue and Dave
Thanks for sharing this beautiful story! May the Lord continue to bless and guide you both. We love you both!
Thanks be to God for His great provision and love for you both and for the blessing you have been to us.
-Stewart (and the whole family)
Hello Mr. S!
Thank you very much for your comments. They mean more to us than you know. Indeed, all thanks and praise to God! And, likewise, we thank God for your family and love you all, too!
Sue and Dave
Congratulations on your anniversary. Thank you so much for sharing your story. It shows so much how the Lord works everything together for our good.
Jill
Hi Jill!
Thank you for stopping by! Amen regarding all things working out for our good and for His glory. We feel very blessed, indeed.
We hope you're doing well. May God bless and keep you and thanks, again!
Sue and Dave
It truly is hard to turn it over to God, place ourselves in His hands and give up trying to control but praying and re-emphasizing the act of turning our lives, cares, etc over to Him helps so much. God bless you and happy anniversary!
Hi Mary!
Thank you very much for your words of encouragement and blessings. We really appreciate it. God bless you, as well, and thank you for taking the time to read the blog and post a comment!
Sue and Dave
Many good years ahead for your priorities are aligned.
Congratulations ?
Congratulations on your anniversary and the successes on your homestead as well. I remember the hard work as we too raised our sweet adopted special needs family on an organic farm where we were not off grid but did have wood heat and raised most of our own food etc. My husband was God's answer to my prayers for a godly husband as well and we had forty wonderful and adventurous years of wedded bliss before the Lord called him home. It has been 17 years since I lost my forever love and now looking forward to meeting again in Eternity. Wishing you much joy in the rest of your earthly journey together.
Hello Mayree!
What a blessing for God to grant you such a wonderful husband and family, and for the time He granted you be together here on earth. Thank you for sharing and may God abundantly bless you and your children. Thank you for taking the time to comment and for your words of blessing!
Sue and Dave
Hello Goatldi!
Thank you for saying Hi and for your warm words of congratulations. We appreciate it! May God richly bless you!
Sue and Dave
I never get tired of hearing the different ways God brings couples together & how He reveals Himself over the years. Thanks for sharing your story!
Hi Mrs. V!
Thank you for stopping by and saying Hello! Now that you mention it, I would love to read a compilation of people's stories, as well. That would be a very interesting and encouraging read. I'm very thankful for the story God has given us, by His graces and mercies.
God bless you and your family!
Sue (and Dave)
Thank you EVER so much for allowing to get more acquainted with your rich history. I know you two are blessed wondrously but whoever reads this will greatly benefit in numerous ways. For of Him, and to Him, and through Him are all things to whom be glory for ever. Amen.
Hi Mr. Gregory!
Amen! Thank you for taking the time to read about the Lord’s graciousness towards us. We just pray He glorify Himself with us in some way. We’re thankful for the blessing of knowing you. 🙂
— David and Susan