A little late, but nevertheless....
The last five years of my life have been extraordinary. James is the most kind,serving,authentic, true, hard working, fun, adventurous,pure,and whole person I have ever known. I think dating him via email/webcam for a year was the best thing for our relationship. We were forced to have our own lives, discovering still who we were and not confined to a typical dating relationship. I never took for granite, not once, our chat dates or an email from him in the morning. I learned to choose my words carefully and to not just rant something off quickly that I would later regret but was allowed to sift and think before speaking. There really is a romantic element to writing that you loose in face to face contact and James is such an elequant writer, I felt like every email was a love letter. The anticipation of being together was sometimes too much to stand that I would day dream of what I would feel when we were face to face again. It was not without its hardships but it is for sure a gem in my treasure chest of life and I am thankful that was our lot for our dating season.
Our engagement was a rush, only three months long:) Our wedding was beautiful. Sure there are things I wish I would have had more money for or things I would do different if I were getting married today, but for where we were and who we were at the time, it was perfect. I was telling a bride to be the other day that I remember our ceremony with such clarity it seems like a gift from God. I was so present. I loved it. The days and months to follow were blissful, getting to spend everyday and night with my favorite person traveling all over the word. One day we were in Germany, just a few months after we were married, and we were riding a motorcycle on the autobahn and riding so fast that I had to hold my head against James' back or I felt like I would blow off the back of that crotch rocket. So telling of our lives together. We lived on nothing our first year of marriage but it was such a rich year. We lived overseas our second year which was the hardest year of my life but the sweetest yet for our marriage. Moved back to America, raw and full of questions. I have memories of us sitting in our bare living room because we did not own anything but a bed when we moved back from overseas, each on one end of the couch, journaling our hearts out to the Lord, what are you doing with our lives? Some questions answered, some not but today we still sit on that couch, and every once in a while we will share something that God spoke or ask each other a question about life or God and I smile at what a gift that is. To walk daily with this man and to have a person to discover God and life with is amazing. Now having a son with him just adds depth to an already beautiful painting. He is the expression of both of us in so many ways and also his very own person. The greatest thing is that there is still so much to come, still more to discover about one another and to fall in love with. Many more April 5th's to celebrate. I love you James.
Keller at his first Luau at church.
