jennyjennygenesis
homemaking, homeschooling, and striving for holiness
oh my, what a surprise!
It never fails to make me ponder my God’s wonderful works when I look at this picture! Here we are, right after getting married! We were so happy, and I don’t remember what we were saying, but it should have been something like- “Oh my, what a surprise, we are actually married!”
It was a long road for Sweetheart and I to come to this place, one wrought with much sinny–bad behaviors, bumps in the road, or whatever you want to call it….We knew each other our whole lives, if from afar, went to the same church, same school, shoot- my Aunt and Uncle are his Godparents! He is four years my senior and so we didn’t really see each other eye to eye until I was 16. At that time he was simply the gorgeous older brother of my best friend. Yup.
So, as time passed and we hung out more, and we fell in love, there was a lot in common. When we fell in love there were times that I didn’t think about anything BUT him for hours. Literally. And I want to scream from the top of the water tower-“There is none like our God!” He did this big thing in my life, brought me from a self-centered obnoxious proud and happy hippie, to a mom who is still very much in love with her Sweetheart, and has a whole heck of a lot more perspective on her place in the world. God is SO GOOD! MAJESTY! Our God Reigns.
We had 3 children when we got married. It’s unusual I know, and as you can see from this picture the baby was only six months at our wedding. I look back at that time and just feel overwhelmed with mercy. God really brought some amazing people into our lives to help us pull that off, because we seriously couldn’t have done it without them. Thank you. You know who you are.
Every year right around this kind of snowy day I have to reflect and pray, because this was the time of year that Frankie was born. We had gotten engaged on my birthday, big belly sticking out all over the place, but the world was beautiful because I had a ring on my finger! And then there was the end of the pregnancy where I thought I was in labor EVERY NIGHT for weeks. It was so annoying. I now know that it’s called prodromal labor, where your body upstarts labor several times before it is actually ready to deliver! That was nearly ten years ago now, and I am so very thankful for my Frankie, she’s super bright, and artsy, and a gifted hockey and soccer player, she loves to play the violin (her only request for her b.day)! And I just love the spice in her almost as much as I love her generosity and ability to reach out to people who need a little bit of love. She gives great hugs and can clean the Moses out of your bathroom like you wouldn’t believe. And her birthday is a marker in my life, we’ve been married for ten years this summer, and that is so….wow…how can that be?
Even the best kids you have will grow up and make some interesting choices. Sometimes the things that just don’t make sense at the time will turn out fine, or better than fine. Moms, friends, just stop worrying and pray. Pray that Gods plan will be accomplished. Pray that during these really difficult moments your grown child may find herself in, there is mercy! God is big enough to handle all our shit. He knows our hearts and our desires, and our future. Whether or not you can believe it God has a plan for your children that is even better than what you can dream up on your best day. He is the heart of compassion. Even if my parents weren’t proud of me when they found out I was pregnant with my second child out-of-wedlock, with a man who already had a child….. they are now, or they should be!
After ten years things will look a lot different. Have hope! 🙂
jennyjennygenesis 
I loved this, Jen! We’re celebrating 10 years next week and it still knocks my socks off how amazing this journey has been. Yes, some bad sinny-behavior there in the early days, but looking back I can see how God was there the whole time.
Thanks for such an inspiring message. You guys are WONDERFUL!
Life is a collection of teachable moments and you are living them each day. You are all pearls of great price. God bless you all…..regards…..chip
LOVE that picture! Your wedding was so joyful and wonderful. I remember driving behind you with Judith and Max in their red Jeep, honking the horn for all I was worth, speeding down a dirty road and happy happy happy…
Jen thanks for the encouragement and inspiration. This is a wonderful blog and I think you all are amazing!
Love it, Jen. Miss you! xo-kate
I stumbled across your blog after something was posted on fb. I felt like you had written this just for me. My older sons are doing some rambling and stumbling off of the path I had planned for them. This gives me such hope and is such a good reminder that God does have a plan and we should have hope. Maybe God’s plan could be better than ours?
I love you, Karen! Your boys were and are wonderful people, just like you! I will pray for them that they pull through and recieve the Light and Life of the Risen Christ! Happy almost Easter! xo
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