Yesterday was Nathan and Meagan’s second anniversary and when I saw what she had written to Nathan on Facebook I knew for sure I had to make a blog post out of those beautiful words.
Here is what she wrote:
To the man of my dreams . . . the one I prayed for. Thank you for two amazing years!
You have worked hard for our family,
held me when I cried,
made me laugh until my belly hurt,
encouraged my dreams,
said no when necessary,
loved me without limits,
given me a safe place for all my secrets,
and so much more.
I am blessed to call you my husband and I love you with my life. Happy Anniversary, Nathan Andrew.
I’m so grateful to have such a dear daughter-in-law who expresses her heart so beautifully.
And just to tie a little bow on this Anniversary Edition of Smithellaneous, I want to include a few pictures that will take you on a brief pictorial review through Nathan and Meagan’s relationship.
As you may already know, they met when Nathan was ten and Meagan was almost twelve. (Meagan is on far left; Nathan is third from right.)
Our families’ paths crossed a few more times along the way.
Her family would come over to our house whenever they were in the area (a couple of times a year) and the Hawley kids and the Smith kids would hang out and have fun. Nathan and Meagan have ALWAYS loved to laugh together.
My memory is a little hazy on the timeline but somewhere along the way, Nathan and Meagan attended the Formal together at Nathan’s Christian High School. The only reason they even went was because Meagan’s mom and I sort of arranged it. (Meagan was home schooled and didn’t have a chance to do that sort of thing, so her mom asked me if Nathan would mind taking her.)
Turns out he didn’t mind at all!
A few months after that, they had a real date–a date unarranged by mothers. It was not only their first date as a couple but also the first date either one of them had ever had.
Back when they were younger, Meagan and her sisters had always promised that they would help each other get ready for their first dates but Meagan knew that a promise like that would be hard to keep with so many miles between them. Imagine her surprise when Joy and Kristen drove all the way from Florida to North Carolina just to keep their promise. Meagan jumped and danced and screamed when they walked in the front door of our house—you have never seen anyone so thrilled!
Since Nathan didn’t have his license yet, I dropped him and Meagan off at a nearby Outlet Mall. They ate dinner together, walked around in a few stores and then went to a movie. One thing that was memorable about the date was that as they were taking a shortcut through an empty drainage ditch to get to the restaurant, they suddenly just started talking about marriage–did they want kids? how many? what would the wedding be like? how would the families get along?
And when they were done with that conversation, they just went right along with their evening, no big deal–like it was perfectly normal to talk about marriage on a first date.
They continued to date a little after that but when it came time for Meagan to head to college, they broke things off. It was definitely a sad chapter in their relationship, a chapter that brought tears to Nathan’s eyes more than once.
A year later, Nathan headed off to college himself, the same one that Meagan was attending. They saw each other there and at the church they both attended but their relationship continued on a friendship-only basis. However, after after three or four years had passed, the old flame that had never really gone out started burning a little brighter.
Nathan was home from college one summer when Meagan called him and and asked him if he would like to drive to Florida to help her and her church out with a week Vacation Bible School.
And so every evening for a week, Nathan and Meagan and the other workers hung out with a big group of kids, playing with them, singing with them, laughing with them, and praying with them. And as that week went by, the spark between the two of them started to rekindle. By that Friday night, Nathan had decided to ask Frank (Meagan’s dad) for permission to start dating Meagan again.
And from that time on, they never looked back; the relationship just continued to grow and blossom. I remember one moment in particular the following summer when Meagan decided to fly in from Florida to surprise Nathan midway through his summer break from college. (You can read about the story in this post, “The Plan That Was Almost Unraveled By A Shampoo Bottle.”
I took this picture about five seconds after he saw her. I have never seen Nathan look so happy.
And then? Well, you pretty much know the rest.
This is one of my favorite engagement pictures; it perfectly captures their quirky personalities.
The famous picture we all loved when I first posted it.
And then The Wedding Day!
Two years.
Nathan and Meagan.
Joy.
Such a nice story! I love hearing about them 🙂
Renee,
Well, that works out well because I love writing about them!
Isn’t Nathan is 3rd from the RIGHT in that one picture?
Yep, you’re right. I had a middle aged brain moment.
Went back in and changed it–thanks! 🙂
I love it!! <3
Kim,
I’m glad!
wow… pretty amazing that they didn’t date others when they were apart.
said it before…”a marriage truly designed in heaven!”
Mrs. Pam,
They truly do have a marriage designed in heaven! However, I didn’t mention in this post that Meagan and Nathan each dated one other person during the three years they were not a couple.
Love when you share about them!
NONNY,
You know how it is writing about your kids–it’s always a joy!
That was great fun! I knew pieces of that story already, but I’d never heard (read) the whole thing.
I’ve thought a lot recently about something you posted… somewhere. Here? Facebook? I think it was Facebook. About when to start dating, and what the point to dating in high school could possibly be, and why people should wait until they’re old enough for dating to have purpose. It never occurred to me that dating should have a ‘point’ in the first place. Ironically, I’ve done almost exactly the opposite — I started dating at 14, dated consistently until I was 25, and have now been on a six/seven-year hiatus.
There’s a part of me that wonders how on earth you can marry the only person you’ve ever dated. How can you know what you want/need when your entire experience revolves around only one possibility? But… maybe if you wait until you’re old enough to know who YOU are before you start looking for a mate, then it’s not that hard to know what you need in that other person.
And there’s today’s stream of consciousness thought…
Kristina,
A stream of consciousness thought is always a good thing! 🙂
And since the question you asked doesn’t really have an answer (because every situation and every couple is so different) I won’t really try to answer it specifically. But I will reiterate what I wrote to Mrs. Pam above and that is that both Nathan and Meagan did date one other person during the time they were apart.(Which is still not much dating for two college aged people!) I truly think they were two people who were just made to be with each other.
At this point, Sarah seems to be following in her brother’s footsteps–almost eighteen and never been on a date. It’s not that she’s against the concept; it’s just that no one has come along who has rung any bells for her and she doesn’t see the purpose of dating someone just for the sake of having something to do on a Saturday night.
When we were youth pastors a LONG time ago, Steve used to tell the kids, “You will only marry someone you date.” Sounds kind of simplistic but the point he was making is to only date someone who is excellent marriage material because one of those dates is going to lead to marriage.
It’s certainly an interesting subject for discussion and I always appreciate your well thought out insights!
Love that story. Can only hope my kids story is just as great. And your Sarah’s story about her love and marriage. Will be epic!! So happy and thrilled for you all. Congrats and God bless!!
Catherine,
I can’t wait to see who Sarah will fall in love with. She will make one beautiful bride! (And I will make one weepy mother!)
How fun. That was just a complete treat to read and enjoy. God had plans for those two all along. Okay, need to dab away the happy tears now. Noah, you are one lucky little man to have these two for your mom and dad. Oh Becky, I just can’t wait to see your joy when you hold your precious grandson.
Mary,
I can’t even begin to image what I feel holding that little boy in my arms. Part of me feels like I just can’t be old enough to be a grandmother and the other part of me is so happy that I am! 🙂