My husband and I have been married 20 years! Sometimes it is hard to believe how fast time has flown by, but at the same time I feel like I have known him all my life. He is my best friend and soul mate. I know that may sound corny, but let me tell you why.
We were only dating for two months when we decided we wanted to get married. We wanted to marry as soon as possible, but neither of our jobs paid very well, and we wanted to have things lined up...such as a place to live. And we wanted to have a nice, little church wedding. As time went on it became more frustrating, things weren't moving along fast enough! I can remember praying to God, "Please help us find a way to get married!". Not long after, things started to fall into place. John found a place for us to live and everything else started coming together.
We bought our plain, gold wedding bands at Kmart. We put them on layaway. I can remember that both of them cost us a total of $99. I know many couples buy expensive, specially-designed wedding rings...and if we had the money at the time, we would have! After all, if you're going to spend the money on any part of the wedding, it should be the rings. Even so, when I look at my plain, gold band now, I have to smile. That ring, simple as it is, represents LOVE. And I wouldn't trade it for anything.
We have never had a lot of money, like many couples. But we've had so many good and wonderful times! And we've also had some trials to go through. But somehow even the trials, even in the midst of the sad and bad times, there was a thread of hope and LOVE in them. I think it is because we have always faced them as a "team". One of my most favorite sayings is, "Joy shared is doubled, pain shared is halved". It is so true!!
I can remember when we went through some trying years when I was frequently sick with adult-onset asthma. I was hospitalized twice with pneumonia. My husband was my hero!! He was always there for me, helping me. One time when I was particulary down while in the hospital, I was crying when he called. (He was at home super-cleaning the house so it'd be ready for when I came home...he didn't want my lungs to have to contend with any dust or any other contaminants). When he heard me on the phone, he instantly dropped everything and drove up to the hospital. And while a nurse was a little wary about me going outside, he walked me out to a little area to sit down so I could get some fresh air and clear my head. It did wonders for me! I will never forget that.
There was another time when John won tickets for us to see a show in Tampa (he is so funny in that way, always able to win, barter or work things out for us). We were so excited as we drove there in our old car. We had so much fun! On the way home we were happy and talking about the show and we briefly mentioned how nice it would be if we could eat dinner out, too, since we were down that way...but at the time things were just too tight. It was right around then that we were at a stoplight and I looked over and saw a couple in a very nice car. They obviously had money. But I noticed that the woman was looking down at the road out her window. She looked so sad. I felt so bad for her! It was then that an important lesson really hit home: just because someone has money, it does not guarantee that they will be happy.
We may never have a lot of money, but then money was really never a primary goal of ours. I know that I am so very blessed to have my wonderful husband...that we found eachother...and our life together is the best thing I could ever have imagined. I am a rich woman, indeed.
