Linda:
God has truly blessed me with the honor of becoming your husband. I am also honored to be able to share this day with so many friends and family members who are celebrating with us and even with those few who are witnessing something that you had sworn for years would never, ever happen. If I were a comedian, I’d warn those naysayers to get their houses in order because this is clearly a sign that the Mayans were right. But in spite of your protestations, it is evident that today’s celebration is a part of a plan that far exceeds anything either of us could have ever imagined.
Proverbs 16:9 says, “A man’s heart plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps.” I think this is a wonderful description of our relationship. From the day we met in the library at Concordia, we had a strong connection. Little did you know that as I was stamping all that ink on your forehead, you were leaving a stamp on my heart. Falling in love and living happily ever after would have made sense, but we both had other plans and for reasons known and unknown, we went down different paths. Over the years we connected periodically, catching up on our lives and reliving good memories – the stuff friends do. Then when the time was right, God stepped in and made a few course corrections.
I came to realize on that day that I was worthy of someone like you. Now I know that hearing me say that has you thinking to yourself; “Oh Puh-leeze! I’m just an ordinary girl.” But if I may be so bold, I’d like you and everyone here to understand that while your claim of being ordinary may appear to be humility run amok, it is actually a lie of the enemy designed to hold you back from the amazing things God has in store for you. If you were ordinary, you would be defined as common, lacking any unique qualities or abilities, plain, simple, and possessing little value. This is dangerous, because believing yourself to be ordinary opens the door for others to prey upon your good nature and to take advantage of you for their own selfish desires. I know this to be true because for many years, I too have considered myself to be ordinary.
But today, nearly 20 years later, God has opened our eyes to see what He knew all along. God has built something new and amazing in us. The equation is simple: An ordinary woman meets an ordinary man. In the world, that would lead us to an ordinary marriage and an ordinary life, but that’s not where this story ends. With God playing an integral part in the formation, preservation, and restoration of our relationship, we now possess something extra, and by adding His extra to our ordinary we discover that our lives have been transformed. And from this moment on, together, we are and will always be extraordinary. You are the one I was praying for. The one He delayed me for. The one He kept for me. And now it is time…
A Mile in My Schu's 