John and Shelbie

The past couple of weeks have not lacked in the drama. Our pastor left, Roger and I both started back to graduate school, Paul and Anna have reached the crazy stage that many have told me about and my 17 year old brother got married. It has been one of those "need to breath, must remember to breath" kinda two weeks. I must say that if it wasn't for that natural peace that I receive daily from the good Lord through prayer and meditation, I would be in a ditch some where pulling my hair out. 'Hey, who's that girl sitting there in the ditch?  Is she pulling her hair out?"  

Let me just go ahead and talk about what has been on my mind the most. My 17 year old brother, John.  I got a call from my mother last weekend informing me that John was engaged. No surprise, ok, a little bit of a surprise since they hadn't been dating very long. I mean, even though Roger and I KNEW we wanted to get married after dating 6months we didn't actually get engaged until we had dated about 3 years. So, I was like, well I guess they know what they want and don't want to wait.  I understand.  

On Thursday after I had just dropped Paul off for school, placed Anna down for a nap and was preparing a nice cup of tea, my mother called in a frantic state "you're brother is getting married TODAY."  "Where?"  "At the court house."   Needless to say I busted out laughing and tried to calm her by explaining that you had to be at least 18.  That's when she explained that both of the parents had already signed the papers because John and his girlfriend said 

they would wait a while.  I guess a while meant a week.  I don't know. I was confused.  I immediately called my minister who also happens to be my husband!

Shelbie and John agreed to wait until Friday so Roger could drive down to marry them and family could be there.  They ended up having a precious wedding at a beautiful creek!! Both wore jeans. Shelbie wore a gorgeous white flowing top with a flower band in her hair and John wore a white dress shirt over a dark blue t-shirt. Both were barefoot. After the ceremony we all went back to my parent's house for some cake.  I believe it turned out very nicely and I'm happy that they got to have such a nice, peaceful wedding.  

I believe everyone shares some fear, excitement and a peace about this marriage. We're fearful because it was so fast.  John and Shelbie were led to one another and immediately jumped into marriage. My parents, Shelbie's parents and Roger and I all have one thing in common. We met that special someone and knew instantly "I'm going to marry him/her"  Even though we waited and waited and waited and waited we did finally marry that person. John and Shelbie thought "why wait. let's get married." They have done what we all thought of doing at some point so that gives us excitement for them both.  I remember crying to Roger about wanting to get married before we graduated high school but we ended up waiting, going through pre-marital class and getting married our sophomore year of college. I remember how big of a deal it was getting married in college. I got married 9 days after my 20th birthday. Our parents were freaking out. "they'll never finish college."   Ps: we FINISHED!! 

We all also share a since of peace about the marriage.  Shelbie and John both decided they wanted to do this, who are we to stop them. They truly feel called to one another, want to live in a godly way and have decided to no longer burn in lust. I accept that. I am also at peace that they have an amazing support group surrounding them.  Marriage is work. Sometimes work is fun and sometimes it's not. You need people around to lean on, to learn from, during the good and the bad.  I feel at peace that they both have two wonderful examples of a godly marriage. It is important to have that support. 

So, here I sit thinking about my 17 year old brother John, the fact that he is a husband now and I pray. I don't have specifics, I just pray. I know tomorrow is going to be hard on them. Both have their first day back to their senior year of high school as a married couple. They will arrive to their first class feeling a bit excited, but a bit out of place. They have grown up over the weekend. They have changed. I remember that feeling. That feeling of not quite fitting in. That feeling of responsibility that everyone else around me lacked. That feeling of not being understood. That feeling of "YES I'M MARRIED.  QUIT ASKING ME QUESTIONS!." 

Tomorrow, the next couple of weeks and the next year are going to be hard. Fun but hard. All us married people know that that first year is the rough one. Getting to know each other as husband and wife is challenging. After all the excitement of "getting married" calms, you find yourself in the mist of plain old life. Having to adjust to knowing each others life rhythm, spiritual rhythm and quarks is challenging. I just pray. That's all I can do. Pray.