I remember being in the car with my dad in the morning of August 5, 2000, just a couple of hours before I would stand in front of the woman that I love and commit to being her husband. It started raining. I freaked out. The wedding went just fine, but little did I know that this would be the first, and smallest, of many storms we would go through together, holding tightly to God, and to each other.
Over the past 11 years, I have grown to love Jill more and more. I have seen her grow into a wonderful and beautiful woman. She is incredibly talented, extremely generous, deeply loving, and so patient.
There are two situations that I love watching Jill the most. The first is with her sisters. They laugh, they argue, the laugh some more. She loves them so much and when they all get together, I know she feels “right”. The second place is when she is with teenagers. When we first started dating, she wasn’t too interested in working with teenagers, and I told her that she didn’t have to, but she needed to understand that it was my passion. She gave them a chance, and now I think she loves them more than I do. I love watching her laugh, and hug them. I love how excited she is to see them. She cares for them, she prays for them, and she desperately wants them to know and follow Jesus.
I’m still a loser.
Each year has brought new and sometimes “challenging” experiences, but I know that I want to spend the rest of my life going through these storms with her.
Jill, I am so thankful for you, and how you love God, and how you love me. Happy Anniversary Baby!
Here are a couple of my favorite pictures of us.
We were so young, but we are still beautiful.
This was on our 9th anniversary that we celebrated in Puerto Rico on a missions trip.
