On October 28, Ryan and I will be celebrating our 4 year wedding anniversary and 6 years of being together as a couple. Yes, that's right. We started dating back in high school on October 28th, 2006 and married on the same date just two years later :) To us, 6 years seems like so long! But in reality we are still young and have so much more to learn about each other. God has been in the center of our relationship for the majority of our relationship and He is the only one keeping us together.
Getting married at a young age was definitely not easy. At 19, we were both challenged to leave our comfort zones. We were challenged to start our lives fresh, living for God and being active with our church. Neither one of us really knew how to cook our own meals, or do our own laundry, or pay the bills and stick to a budget.
What's a budget again???
To us, a budget did not exist. Ryan didn't have a stable enough job to even qualify for a budget. Heck I would have LOVED to have a tight budget if it meant any income at all! Ryan worked as a contractor for a good 2 years until God blessed us with finances. Being a contractor, you never know what kind of money you make. But throughout those years, I never had a job, and God always met the need.
Not having money stressed us out. We never knew if rent would be paid, or if the car had gas. We did our absolute best to buy food. We were, however, able to tithe to our church.. I remember the nights of screaming and yelling at my husband because we could never pay for anything.else. But how selfish I feel now, because all along God had a plan.
Through the fights and petty arguments, He was the only one that helped our marriage. There were times I would ask myself, "Why did I even marry Ryan? He doesn't know the fist thing about respecting a woman. He can't even take care of me." There were times I wanted to leave but I had nowhere to go.As I sit here and write, I hear my husband snoring on the couch. I love that man. And not because rent is paid and not because we just filled up our gas tank. But because God has shown me how to love.
Getting married at a young age was definitely not easy. At 19, we were both challenged to leave our comfort zones. We were challenged to start our lives fresh, living for God and being active with our church. Neither one of us really knew how to cook our own meals, or do our own laundry, or pay the bills and stick to a budget.
What's a budget again???
To us, a budget did not exist. Ryan didn't have a stable enough job to even qualify for a budget. Heck I would have LOVED to have a tight budget if it meant any income at all! Ryan worked as a contractor for a good 2 years until God blessed us with finances. Being a contractor, you never know what kind of money you make. But throughout those years, I never had a job, and God always met the need.
Not having money stressed us out. We never knew if rent would be paid, or if the car had gas. We did our absolute best to buy food. We were, however, able to tithe to our church.. I remember the nights of screaming and yelling at my husband because we could never pay for anything.else. But how selfish I feel now, because all along God had a plan.
Through the fights and petty arguments, He was the only one that helped our marriage. There were times I would ask myself, "Why did I even marry Ryan? He doesn't know the fist thing about respecting a woman. He can't even take care of me." There were times I wanted to leave but I had nowhere to go.As I sit here and write, I hear my husband snoring on the couch. I love that man. And not because rent is paid and not because we just filled up our gas tank. But because God has shown me how to love.
Ryan and April, circa November 2006
