Planning for Marriage

Good morning everyone!  I am going to squeeze in this post before church this morning so that I can enjoy the day... but more on that later.  Many who have been around me the last month after getting engaged can attest to the fact that the wedding planning process has not been all rainbows and ponies for me.  Every girl has a glamorous idea of being on cloud nine during the process and everything falling into place perfectly.  This is reality for some, but not for me and that is okay I have begun to realize.  I have also begun to realize that the wedding is one day, an absolutely amazing day that will be cherished forever, but one day nevertheless.  The important part of the wedding is that it symbolizes the start of a lifelong journey of being married to another person; good, bad, or completely awesome!  I need to spend the next five months not only planning the one day that is the wedding, but planning my heart and mind for being a wife for the rest of my life.

Part of getting my heart and mind ready for marriage is learning from other couples.  Cameron and I have had the pleasure of being part of a couples bible study that encourages conversations about topics that can be problematic for couples.  The study works through the book 10 Great Dates Before You Say I Do, and I truly believe that it has been a good experience for our relationship.  Many of the topics we have talked about already, but it is always good to go over them again and learn from the tips and examples provided by the authors.  Even more beneficial than reading through the book (at least in my opinion) is the conversations we have had with the other couples in the study.  It is led by an older couple who have 30 years of marriage experience to share, and a younger couple with 2 years of marriage experience to speak of.  Their personal experiences and advice have been encouraging, eye opening, challenging, and soooooo appreciated.  I have found women that I can trust and confide in, which is a gift that will last a lifetime, and as a couple we have found other couples that are going through similar circumstances and want to share their experiences as a way of offering help.  It has been a wonderful experience while preparing for marriage and I hope that we can find a bible study for the next stage of our relationship that will be just as encouraging.

Last nights conversation at bible study was centered around leaving and cleaving.  This is an area that Cameron and I spend a lot of time talking and problem solving about.  Both of us have very close relationships with our families and it has been a learning process to shift our focus to the family that we will be creating together.  It is a learning process that we are still on, but also one that has made our relationship so strong.  Conversation is required as we navigate through the challenge, and it has encouraged sharing of opinions, supporting each other other, and building a close, committed friendship to one another.  I am so blessed that God has given me a friend in my future husband.  Each day I look forward to telling him funny things I have seen while out and about, hearing about his day of class (icky!), and talking about the adventure of marriage that we are both looking forward to.  He is awesome and I love him!

I am glad that I had the chance to write this post this morning, because after church Cameron and I are off to my future in-laws to celebrate my future sister's 20th birthday!!!  Happy Birthday Joy!!!  Can't wait to spend the day with you :)