Sunday Sentiments: October 4

 

Yesterday Ryan and I had the honor/privilege/tremendously terrifying responsibility of photographing a wedding.

            A wedding!

            I’ll have to tell you more about it on a different day, but it was a grand day and so much fun.

            It felt appropriate to have the opportunity to serve in this way the same weekend of our own monthiversary: 138 months today! I love weddings and have always loved them, but attending them now always reminds me of how much I loved our day.

            Before a wedding, of course, there is the proposal, and so many of you remember ours from hearing it live on the air or reading the recap of it here. What you might not remember is that it took place on October 4, 2011. (We celebrate that day every year, too! The more reasons to celebrate, the better, in our opinion!)

            I’ve always loved our engagement day and now I have one new-to-me reason to love it. Are you ready for a good story?

            When we moved the last of Mom and Dad’s things out of their house, we brought a big stack of tubs and boxes that we had been storing in their attic. Most things were from our childhood – or early in our marriage. We are in the process of sorting through it all, figuring out what we want to keep, and getting it ready to store. (Massive undertaking!)

            A couple of days ago, I sorted through a bunch of letters my family and friends sent to me back in 2009, when I was away at a retreat. The envelope on the top of the stack was from my Mom, and I opened her letter to read it again.

            She told me about the day she found out she was pregnant with me – which is a bit of an infamous story I’ve heard many times.

            This time, though, she included the date: October 4.

            I sat and stared, goose bumps forming on my arm.

            I love God’s story-writing so much.

            Thirty-five years to the day after my parents were surprised with a life-twist, I was surprised with one, too!

            It’s a tiny detail – silly to most, I’m sure. But I love it. It matters to me. It’s significant to me in ways that I can’t fully articulate.

            This year’s October 4 will feel a little extra special to me, and I look forward to it. But in the meantime, I’m going to enjoy sorting through these wedding pictures!