Yesterday, my husband and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary. Our wedding day feels like it really did just happen yesterday, and yet, it also feels like it happened a long time ago. That was truly one of the happiest days of my life, and as the day was unfolding, I tried to capture every moment to store in my mind and in my heart.
I can still picture John, our kids, and me dressed up in our wedding attire and our family and friends who were gathered there to support us and celebrate with us. Everywhere I looked, I saw someone who loved us and whom we loved in return, and this mutual love and joy were palpable.
Everything, thankfully, went smoothly. An amazing electric string trio provided the music, which included some of our favorite songs. They even learned several Pearl Jam songs that we incorporated in the ceremony and reception. The food was absolutely delicious, the drinks were flowing, and everyone was talking, laughing, and enjoying themselves. These are just some of the memories that stand out, and ones that I will cherish forever.
There is one part of that special day, though, that I have come back to time and time again in the past year. It’s something that has helped me to appreciate the journey that John and I took to get to our wedding day even more.
During the ceremony, our officiant referenced the 1998 movie, Sliding Doors, a movie John and I had not seen. It is a story about fate and how a small decision can alter the course of your life. During her conversations with John and me, she knew that we had sometimes wistfully wondered what our lives would have been like had we dated in college and gotten married back then, instead of later in life.
John and I talked about the what ifs when we first started dating, and sometimes, we expressed our regret that we lost out on so many years together. Our officiant shared these very wise words, though, that have helped us let go of those what ifs and to know that we ended up right where we belong:
I love that story (Sliding Doors), because it’s a great reminder that we aren’t in total control of the paths our lives take. But what God intends for you will always come to be when you do your best.
When our officiant shared this message, I knew that she, and the movie, were right. As I look back on how John and I met in college and then stepped through very different sliding doors following graduation, I really do believe that our relationship evolved how, and when, it was meant to be.
Our respective sliding doors gave us children whom we love beyond imagine, and we now get to be a bigger, better, and louder family together. John and I each pursued careers we loved, built families and friendships, and had various experiences that shaped who we are. Our sliding doors are what led us to walk through the door to the present and to the future that we now share.
So, we don’t really find ourselves wondering what if much these days. Instead, we focus on each other and to our children and continuing to appreciate and enjoy our marriage and the time we have with one another now. Many sliding doors have opened and closed along the way, but this new one is wide open, and we are ready to walk through it together.
To hear more about our love story, check out my podcast, Elev8 Your Life with Kristi, episode nine, My Funny Valentine, which will be released on, Valentine’s Day.
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