Happy 40th Birthday Bekah!!

Ryan here, for Bekah's 40th birthday post.

Sooo...the long awaited day has finally arrived!!  It feels like we have been celebrating Bekah's 40th birthday for quite some time, since her party was over a week ago and we have continued with the festivities ever since.  How GREAT is that!! It's an important birthday, and I feel it has been celebrated well.  I hope she feels the same and so very loved.

As many of you know (or may not know) Bekah and I went to the same small school growing up but never really knew each other.  At best we were acquaintances.  She was quite shy back then.  I know it's hard to imagine.  We were a grade apart in school and from her graduation until the day we were married, we lived a lifetime apart.  We had separate lives that never intersected.  She went on to college and lived/worked in Marion.  Her church and friends were there and that is where she primarily stayed.  I didn't go to college until I was 29, but until then I worked and lived 30 miles away in Kokomo.  Our lives never collided.

Until one day God led her to the church where I worshipped.  She sat right there on the back row.  (Somethings never change; front row all the way for me!)  I recognized her and distinctly remember greeting her that day.  She continued coming back and thankfully made it her home church.  I was in a relationship at the time, but we did establish a friendship.  For many years, that is what our relationship was: friendship.  And for many years I wondered how in the world this girl wasn't married.  She was Godly, attractive, funny, the list could go on and on.

Then she got a new job a radio station in Fort Wayne.  I remember being excited for her that she was finally getting out of a job she wasn't that fond of and starting something I thought she could really flourish in.  I also remember being sad that she planned to move there as well and that meant I would no longer see her.  But as it worked out, her house (for some reason...hmmm...) would not sell.  And in a way that only God could have ordained, after trial-filled seasons for us both, we began dating.  I believe we knew from that very first date that we were perfect for each other.

Bekah and I feel like we have lived a lifetime in the last 5.5 years.  We have been determined to live according to where God leads us, be intentional about life and always be crazy in love.  And I feel we have done those things well.  But what about all those years before each other?  What did I miss? 

Your parents raised you to love Jesus and to live according to His commands.  So you started off good. 

Then there were your awkward years as a tween and teen, which we all go through, but according to you, yours were especially awkward.  So maybe that wasn't so bad to miss :). 

After that, off to college you went and starting dating the for first time.  From the stories you have told me there was a lot of learning in that season of life.  It sounded pretty dramatic, so it's probably good I wasn't around. 

Your twenties were a time of establishing yourself as an adult and praying for a husband, who unbeknownst to you, would not be stopping by for many years.  God taught you many things in that time and showed you what it was like to rely Him in a way you never had to before.  He took care of you, provided a home and work for you, and gave you many new friends that you are still close too today. 

As thirty rolled around you began to wonder if you dreams of being married would ever come to fruition.  This led to more set ups and blind dates than you care to speak of and the stories are priceless.  I have really enjoyed them.  They always make me laugh. 

But then one day I showed up at your doorstep and life moved into fast forward.  And I am ever grateful for that day.

Happy 40th Birthday, my love!  As is the case with all of us, it takes time for God to mold and shape us, and I love the woman you have become.  Your love for life is greater than anybody I know and that is abundantly clear with the 45 scrapbooks just from our life together.  You are always looking to make a memory to somehow remember each and every day.  I know everyday when I wake that you will do or say something to make me laugh, show me unconditional love and be a Godly wife.  Thank you for living everyday to its fullest and for the wonderful way you love me!

  
                                                                                      Love you forever,
                                                                                                                   -Ryan