The Paths Series Finale

Kiss me and kiss me again,
for your love is sweeter than wine.
Song of Solomon 1:2

Welcome to the finale chapter in the Paths series. If you are just joining in, you can get all caught up by clicking here to read all 13 previous chapters in sequence, or as individual posts by clicking here. I posted daily this past week, so if you haven't been here recently, be sure you start on part 9, part 10, part 11, part 12, and part 13 before you start here or you'll be reading the end of the story first. Unless that's what you're in to... Either way, let's wrap this thing up.....



So, August 17th, 1991, THE ONE became my One and Only. That 19 year old child bride married that handsome college boy seventeen years ago today. It was on that very day that the path I was barreling down finally came into focus. God, in His infinite wisdom, used every single step I took up to that day, even the mistakes, to form this incredible bond with my husband and with Him. Together, J and I have learned to slow down, to seek Him, and to enjoy this road we're on- confident that He has plans bigger than we can even imagine.

J and I went away this weekend for a little re-connect and celebration- we hit the beach, ate amazing Japanese food, did some olive oil and balsamic vinegar tasting, and laughed and laughed and laughed. On our drive to the coast, we were talking about what a full-on miracle it is that we made it to this point, what a testimony it is to the amazing power of God, and how terribly this whole thing would have gone if we were left to our own devices. We gave ourselves the customary "high five, we made it!" followed by heartfelt praises to Jesus for His protection and provision. It's actually cool to look back at the mess we made, and so satisfying to see what God is doing now, and exhilarating to look forward and imagine what could be just around the bend. I just kept looking over at him, marveling at how BIG these feelings I have for him are , and how much we've grown, and how great it feels.

It may be the sea breeze talking, the high from the sushi, the thrill of time away from the kids, or the fact that we just got to the end of this really neat trip down memory lane, but I swear to you, my husband has never looked so beautiful to me as he did this weekend. I love him so much... even more than I did when I wrote this post last year. Actually, more isn't a big enough word... I love him bigger, deeper, stronger, madder, truer.... oh, I can't even describe it with words... it's just MORE.

Speaking of more, I can't really think of what more to say. It's high time to wrap up this series, and I've been struggling for hours with how to end this post. It feels like it should be this grand finale where I tie the whole thing together, and write something deeply profound about this whole paths idea, now we're at the end .....

aha. that's it! we're not at the end, are we? we're just at another little marker in the road- and perhaps that's why it's hard to make a pretty bow, giving the moral of the story and the happily ever after. There are more mistakes to be made, more detours, more regrets, more lessons to be learned.

And while it would be tempting to wish that weren't true, it turns out that mistakes, detours, and lessons can make for a pretty cool story, huh?

Happy, Happy Anniversary, J
Looking forward to many more years
of wandering this path together
xoxo