As every person who has ever been in any kind of relationship knows, everything is not always rainbows and butterflies. Dating and marriage relationships seem to bring out the best and the worst in people, and my relationship with Nathan was no exception. As happy as we were and are, the road to where we are today is not free of bumps and bruises.
We were a little different than most couples in that we didn't actually fight during our time of dating. We did get aggravated or annoyed at each other, but the frustrations never spilled over at the same time. It seemed that if one of us was angry the other was able to stay calm, and we never dissolved into a huge argument. When I look back on that time I laugh, because we have definitely fought in our married lives together!
A few months into our relationship, though, we hit a huge bump in the road. The funny thing is that neither of us knew that the other was thinking the exact same thing. We started dating in August and in November, I started thinking about breaking up with him. There was nothing wrong at all, but in a lot of ways I felt like we were headed in different directions. He wanted to be an engineer in one company his whole life and I wanted to travel the world. He wanted the two kids, happy family, and white picket fence, and I never wanted to buy a house and settle down.
At the same time, Nathan was having similar doubts about me. Neither of us expressed these concerns to each other (we were only a few months in!), and we continued on without knowing the struggle of the other person. On Nathan's part, his mom convinced him to stay together with me - I guess she saw something that he could not see at the time! On my part, I don't know what changed my mind but if I could guess, it would be the way Nathan loved God and me, and the way he treated me with such sacrificial love day in and day out.
In reality, we truly did want different things out of life and I can't help but be amazed at where we are now. It is nothing short of a miracle. Nathan now has flown on a plane a few times and loves traveling. At the same time, we bought a house a month before we got married. He has since quit his job at the company he started working, and we don't know where life will lead us. My desire for traveling has not diminished, but now our goals in life are much more evenly matched than ever before.
Sometimes I can't help but sit back and shake my head at the fact that we are still together - that we didn't break up at the time, because we are such different people now than we ever could have imagined. It is truly a joy to grow and change with my husband and although we certainly both feel the pains of life and heart transitions, we can't be more thankful seeing how far - and to where - God has brought us today.
Each week I'm including some pictures of the first few years we were together. They aren't professional or perfect, but I cherish them so much, just looking back at the people we used to be.
Next week: how we decided to marry each other! Stay tuned :)
Previous Posts:
10 Things You Didn't Know about Nathan
10 Things You Didn't Know about Me
Before We Met
How We Met
The First Date
