I remember the first time I saw my husband, I thought he was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. I wondered how the other people who saw him there didn’t feel as dizzy as I did.
I remember my first impression, that he wasn’t just beautiful but captivating in every way. We met because of fitness, in a gym. We discovered quickly that in 2020 we’d both voted Libertarian (something only like 3% of voters did). We had similar views on important issues, we both valued liberty. We both shared a faith in Jesus.
But we were, neither of us, “ready” for a new relationship. We were both separated and fairly newly so. We didn’t know if it was wise to pursue something so soon after something so difficult.
But for every doubt, up popped an answer. For every roadblock, there was a way through. For every fear, when we were together there was peace. And if I’m honest with myself, three weeks in I was sure he was the one.
We have not known each other all that long, but we are married. And there is more peace in that decision than any other decision I’ve ever made as an adult.
In a world that is designed to make us anxious and uncertain, with him I feel peaceful. One barometer I’ve used all my life in making decisions is if I feel peaceful or unsettled after making it. And every step of the way with him, when I chose to move forward I did so with peace.
We have had challenges. Some are against us. We deal with the general uncertainties of the world and economy, worries with work. He was at my side when my precious dog died. We have had to make hard choices. But we have done so in unity. And in such faith. Holding hands.
We pray together, sometimes with tears of sorrow or joy. But he has held me in prayer in a way my first husband never had done in 15 years of marriage. My whole life since my childhood I’ve been plagued by frequent nightmares. My husband took to praying for that to be taken from me, and my nightmares are now infrequent and far less troubling. He gives me confidence about myself and all the things about me that are weird and different, reminding me that in his eyes I’m feminine, brilliant and loved.
We pursue the Lord together. We have fought for the causes of liberty together. In the short time I’ve known him we’ve grown together so much into better humans, in to stronger faith. Even in the chaos that sometimes swirls around us, in our home there is joyfulness and peace.
I was not looking for him when I found him, and I wasn’t sure I was ready when he came into my life. But I think God plans things out better than we ever could. It was not our timing, but I thank God for taking what we were – unsure, broken, scared – and turning it into healing, certainty and love. In His timing.
Anna Farley 