Wowie! How do I even begin to explain how baffled I am that I've been married to my dream guy for a whole year. I know this must seem trivial to those of you who are on 5, 15, and 20+, but if you can just travel back to being in my shoes, I think you'll remember just how giddy you felt when you reached this exciting milestone.
Oh man, I remember hitting one month of dating. It felt like an eternity and a flash all at the same time. Where had the time gone? How did I get so lucky to spend every day with you!
Now married – a year of waking up next to my sweet guy. He's all mine! And though astonishment still marks how I feel everyday, there's something so much more, something so much deeper still. I tried to put a name on it but I regret to tell you there is not just one.
It's a feeling of wholeness, and not one where I wasn't complete before I met him, but rather that my eyes can now see what makes up the entirety of all that I am. The most assured thing, something so right that it solidifies truth and stirs up boldness. A magical mystery that keeps me dazzled, drawn in, and searching all the more. My destiny wrapped up in our existence and calling as one flesh. A sense of everything, fully content and fully aware. The feeling can't be labeled with just one, the words that come to mind could number the stars.
Daily life with David has found its own beautiful pattern, sometimes consisting of little things he does that make me crazy: tickling me where it hurts, leaving his pants in the middle of the room, cabinet doors left open, staying up till the crack of dawn, and yet, even as I type these things I find myself looking forward to the next time I find myself closing those doors, picking up his pants. Seeing his guilty grin, his chuckle of "innocence" has become one of my favorite things. Yes, he makes me crazy but that crazy is welcomed, because, I wouldn't trade a day of being showered in the ridiculous amount of love that David gives with each setting sun.
I often wondered how a man could be content spending the rest of his life with me. Me, Natalie was (and is) emotional, quirky, lacking mystery, my own kind of beautiful, not excellent at anything, and then, just like that, David came along and suddenly I felt interesting, intelligent, a sight to behold, and full of desire. It's oh so special how God makes eyes just right for you. David sees me. He knows me better than I know myself (really!). He understands even when it doesn't make sense. David is patient and kind when I don't deserve it. He loves me with a love that only Jesus could have taught him.
It is so wonderful to be married. It is so good to be married. It is so right to be married.
David I love you forever.
Here's my favorite treasure from our wedding day:
A special thank you to Elle Wildhagen for this perfect depiction of our special day. (She didn't even know how much we loved Lord Huron when she picked this song, or that it's all we listened to on our honeymoon.)
Happy One Year!