Today.If it weren't a Sunday (which takes precedence over the feast of the day) we'd be celebrating St. Thomas Aquinas today.
Instead, we're celebrating the Resurrection, and another sort of resurrection:
Ours.
We were married in 1984, with no idea of what "marriage" actually meant ... we didn't want children, we didn't have faith, we didn't need a church. We stood in front of a judge and said, "I do," but what, really, did we plan to do?
God, tricky fellow that He is, gave us a few suggestions. Faith crept up on me, and it turns out we did want children, but we didn't get to have them right away. We wept together when we lost our first one. We wept again when we lost another. We grew closer than ever. Oh, you sneaky Deity.
I ventured further into faith, and then we had a baby -- one we got to hold -- our tenderhearted Anne-with-an-e. I was received into the Catholic Church, when she was a toddler, and then we had another baby, our sweet Betsy.
And then we lost two more babies. We wept together again and again. And then -- oh, joyous day! -- Atticus was received into the Catholic Church. What do you know? We did need a church.
And, with a finally-shared faith, we lost another baby. We wept again. But, we surrendered. We trusted. We kept going.
So, there we were: children, faith, a church. What more could we want?
God, sneaky fellow that He is, surprised us again. He gave us Ramona.
And so, here we now are, twenty-three years into this thing called marriage. We are everything we thought we would never be. We are parents. We have faith. We are Catholic.
And we are profoundly happy.
If not for the Resurrection of Christ, we would not have had our own resurrection. How do I thank my God for all this: for my husband ... for my children? For my resurrection?
It's beyond my ability to express what God has done for me. I shake my head in amazement, and I recall Mary's words:
The Almighty One has done great things for me,
and Holy is His name.
Great things for me ....
Holy is His Name ....
I'm speechless at His gifts.
Thank you, dear God, for Atticus, and for Anne, and Betsy and Ramona, and for all of our saints in Heaven.
Thank you, God.
And happy Anniversary, Atticus. I love you with all my heart.
22 comments:
Oh, I get to be the first to wish you Happy Anniversary! Thanks for sharing your happily blessed lives with us. Hope you have a splendid day together!
Happy Anniversary, Karen! May you be blessed with many more love-filled years together.
Jean
Karen, what a beautiful tribute to your marriage and to your faith. Have a wonderful, happy Anniversary!
Happy Anniversary Karen. It's quite a feat in contemporary US to be married for so long and as you have said - the credit goes to God.
That was so beautiful! I have little tears in my eyes. I'm so happy that God has given you such a wonderful family - and that you share them with us. :)
And while I was quite happy my big brother was getting married, I'm sorry to say I remember it more as the day Michael Jackson's hair caught on fire--I was only 12, after all! Looks as if you've had a better run than Michael...
Such a beautiful story, Karen! Many blessings and best wishes to your family on this special day!!
Leave it to Amy to point out how much younger she is than the rest of us! Have a Blessed Day! Your older sister! Nancy
Happy anniversary, Karen. And thank you for sharing your beautiful blessings with us.
Happy Anniversary Karen!
Happy Anniversary! What a beautiful tribute to true joy. God Bless you all!
Happy Anniversary Karen!
Happy Anniversary Karen and Atticus! Isn't it great that the great stealer of hearts has stolen yours as well, but has let you keep them too, along with the blessings of children with whom to share them. With Thomas Aquinas's feast day falling on the same day as your wedding, well I guess you had a powerful intercessor there... May you have many, many more happy and blessed anniversaries to share together.
Happy Anniversary Karen and Atticus! God bless you even more in the many happy years ahead!
Happy Anniversary to Karen and Atticus! Here's to many more beautiful years together.
Happy Anniversary! :)
I love Liz's comment!!
Happy Anniversary to you, my friend. (A day late, because I was in ND celebrating my mom & dad's 60th!)
Please give Atticus a warm embrace and tell him, on the part of a certain anonymous friend in MN, that he has done truly well. ;)
PS. Could you have chosen a better patron?
Happy Belated Anniversary! I love reading your blog, as your words are beautiful and inspiring. (I also frequently forward your Ramona posts to my sister! We can't get enough Ramona, you know.)
Happy, happy, happy anniversary !!!
Happy (Belated) Anniversary Karen and Atticus! Thank you for your beautiful post. Whenever you mention the beginnings of your marriage it gives me hope - my husband and I both didn't see any need for God when we married, but then I converted to Christianity two years later. I am now going through RCIA and I should be received into the Church this April. My husband is still sees no need for God, as much as it pains me to say it. I pray every day that he will have a similiar transformation of heart.
Thank you for your lovely posts, I really enjoy reading your blog.
Very powerful writing, Karen. What a great God we serve!
An enormous thank you to ALL of you! How touching it's been to hear from so many of you, with your best wishes and kindness and loving thoughts.
I'm gushing, I know, but I really loved all these comments, and loved hearing from people who don't normally comment. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
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