The "L"oves of my "L"ife

If there is one thing I can write passionately about it's the two men in my life.  Chris and Matthew.  Those two.  Ugh, how they hold my heart.  Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would ever be blessed so much.  But God is good and faithful to His children.

The greatest command Christ gives us is to love one another.  In my home, we do love.  We do kindness.  We do forgiveness.  We do life together.  And I don't think we would have it any other way.

As I've recently written, Matthew is entering a new season in life.  In about a month, he will be a high school graduate.  My post, Embracing Change, tells all about how I am dealing with the changes on the horizon.  But that boy, oh how he loves his Momma.  Don't get me wrong, there are days where it is not quite as evident as others...but don't we all have days like that?  Matthew has such a good heart.  I feel that's why he wants to go into the medical field, to help people.  And the more I watch Matthew become a young man, practically an adult, the more I see glimpses of me in him.  He's funny, he's smart, he's compassionate and he's a gift.  From the first days when I brought him home
and it was just me and Matthew, to today where I get to share him with Chris, priceless memories.  God knew what he was doing when he created this young man.  He has a heart of gold and is such a good kid.  He makes me proud every day to be his Mom.

And then there is the other love in my life, Chris.  When I divorced, I just assumed since I was a single mom, my opportunities were over.  Ahh, nope!  I met Chris when I was still carrying the baby weight from having Matthew.  I felt horrible about myself.  And I was a new mom to a newborn...you can imagine how I looked.  And yet this man took an interest in me.  Fresh out of a divorce himself, we were both cautiously optimistic about the future.  I can remember after that first date we were inseparable.  People would tell us we were moving too fast.  We were warned to take our time because we both had children.  But that isn't the Evoy style.  Chris' parents were engaged quick and while Chris and I took 4 years to get to the altar, we rolled through the beginning stages of our relationship in classic Evoy style...full speed ahead.

The day he asked me to marry him, July 4, 2003, he asked both Matthew and I.  It was a moment I will never forget.  I can still picture his face as he knelt down on one knee in front of Matthew and I.  To be honest, he must have really wanted to marry me because I hadn't even brushed my teeth yet!  Six months later, our families blended and become one.  18 years later we are still doing life together. 

We've had our share of ups and downs.  Loss of jobs.  Loss of family members.  Sickness.  Custody battles.  Job transfers across county.  Loss of our home.  Building our forever home.  The path we've walked we've walked together every step.  Not always easy but always, ALWAYS together.

God knew what he was doing when he put Chris and I together.  There is true magic when you are married to your best friend in life.  A pastor once told us, "you'd better be best friends with your spouse because when the kids are gone, you're stuck with each other".  It's true.  These days it's Chris and I.  Matthew is working or busy and it's just Chris and I. 

I treasure the two men in my life more than anything.  I would do anything for them.  I don't deserve either one of them and yet God saw fit for me to be blessed with both of them.  How great is our God?

God took me, broken and divorced, and built me up into a new me.  No longer just Jennifer but rather a Mother and a Wife.  God gave me two people who love me unconditionally.  Two people who would jump over a cliff for me or with me.  Two men who protect me, support me and love me. 

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." ~ Jeremiah 29:11

Truer words have never been said.  God knows the plans he has for us.  Plans to prosper us and to give us hope and a future.  God gave me a new future when he gifted me Matthew.  God gave me a new future when Chris and I got married.  Praise be to God for loving me that much.  I pray that you too will trust God with your future knowing that He is faithful and has plans to proper you and not harm you.