Thirty Days Until "I Do"

Father Nathan Cromly once told a very young, confused and lonely me to live my life to the full, discovering more of the unique and unrepeatable gift the Lord was calling me to be along the way. He told me to do Mary Ann things and to run the race. He told me that one day I would look up and find someone running with me and that this would be the man I'd been waiting for. At the time, I couldn't even verbalize what I thought a 'me' thing would look like! I was too scared of rejection in that stage of my life to live boldly, or to trust that the Lord willed my good. So I started timidly filling in my life with things that brought me joy and made me feel alive.

Now, this is the good stuff! This is the part where I find myself doing very 'me' things with someone I love with my whole heart and who loves me in return.  The Mary of the 'month-and-done' relationship is gone, so it seems fitting to bid her adieu exactly 30 days before I stand in front of all my friends and family and am joined in Holy Matrimony to Rob Stange! 

I was telling a friend recently that finding Rob has brought healing to wounds that I hadn't even recognized I carried. This healing has come in stages, at first painful, and now exciting. The deepest of these has been the feeling of not being seen. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has felt this, but finding a man with whom I can be fully myself and know that at the end of the day he will love me is what I've been waiting for! It's the Lord's provident love for me, manifested in my future spouse! Blissful gift!

When you live life, given to another, willing their good, the Lord takes this and multiplies his graces. And it isn't that life is perfect, but that I know Rob in his fullness, as he is, and can freely say 'yes' to living my life with him. I know that this is reciprocated, and this gives me so much confidence! 

I am eagerly anticipating the day I get to share the rest of my life with my best friend, my Robbie! 

As a special treat at this thirty-day benchmark, I wanted to share one of the projects I've been working on for the wedding! I'll have to do a full post on wedding crafts and how they turned out after the day, but will offer a sneak peak for now! This project was inspired by Taryn Watkins, who put so much loving time and attention into the ambiance of the dinner party where Rob and I met. She had given each of her guests a wooden toggle to take home with them with an O Antiphone mod podged to the surface. A gift Rob and I truly cherish!

So as our gift to our guests, I took the images that I had painted as center pieces and crated our own toggle to send home with everyone! I had so much fun with this project!

Two Hundred, ready for the next step!