Sunday, May 24, 2009

The One My Heart Loves


Today Tim and I are celebrating our 6th wedding anniversary. He is taking the kids on a walk right now to give me some down time before I start my last-minute cleaning dash (our small group is coming over for dinner and a bonfire.) I decided to watch the video from our wedding while I had the house to myself. It's not professionally done; my grandpa recorded it with his video camera but I am so thankful we have a copy of it.
As I was watching it there were some things I found myself thinking:
*I wish I hadn't worn a veil. I spent most of the time flipping my head to the side in order to get the veil off my shoulder without using my hands. I look like I have some kind of tic.
*I wish I had remembered to hold my flowers lower. There was amazing detail on the waist of my dress and I covered it with my bouquet almost the entire time - in pictures, too!
*I wish I hadn't been so vain as to have a teeny-tiny wart removed from the bottom of the ball of my foot earlier in the week. I limped down the aisle and everywhere else that day because the pain still hadn't left three days later. I guess that's what happens when they freeze/burn an area of your body.
*I wish I had remembered to put the roses we gave to our parents during the ceremony in the fridge the night before. Instead I forgot about them and their heads hung off the stems lifeless.
*I wish I hadn't made goofy faces at friends and family while our pastor was talking. I looked like an idiot.
*I wish I hadn't seemed so nervous standing in front of all the people we love.

And then I started thinking...
*I am so glad we asked my old youth pastor to perform the ceremony. He made it so personal since he knew me well and had interacted with Tim on a few occasions during the course of our dating and being engaged.
*I loved our music choices: my sister-in-law, Deidra, who has the voice of an angel, sang "Ave Maria" while the bridal party was walking up the aisle. I walked to "Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini" in memory of my grandfather, my mom's dad, who had passed away a couple year's earlier. That was our first big family event since his passing and my family still was mourning him. During the lighting of the unity candle, Tim's brother (and Deidra's husband), Randy, played guitar and sang Caedmon's Call "Somewhere North" while his friend, John, played piano. The song is what Tim sang when he proposed and it's kind of what we think of as "our song."
*I loved my dress.
*I loved having the bridal party walk back out to Benny Goodman's "Sing Sing Sing."
*There are many other things I am glad we did but most of all...

I love who I was up there marrying - who I chose to spend my life with. There is not a morning I wake up and wish I had picked someone else. Sure, there are the rough moments in marriage where we don't feel like we love each other, but that's why I believe love is a choice. Feelings are unstable. Commitment should not be. I wish more people would take it seriously.
So, Tim, I love you. For better or worse. For richer or for poorer (and we've been about as poor as one can get.) In sickness and in health. Until we are parted by death.

"I found the one my heart loves." ~Song of Songs 3:4a

4 comments:

Rebecca Jo said...

Happy Anniversary!!! What a sweet post! And how true... over the years, it does come down to commitment. Marriage is hard... but if you're both dedicated - it will be successful!!!

Weddings videos - what a way to bring up emotions :)

Debbie Y. said...

Such a sweet and honest post. Hope you had a wonderful anniversary.

Anonymous said...

You and Tim continue to be a source of encouragement and inspiration to Jeana and I. Happy Anniversary!!!

christina said...

This was beautiful, Andrea! I was laughing at your veil comment...I am doing the same thing in my video, too! haha. So glad I could be there on your special day! Love you guys.