Casey and Tim: 3/29/2014

It’s hard to believe that we are celebrating our second wedding today! I love getting to know the couples that come out here, and I was so encouraged by Tim and Casey. I asked them to each write a little something about the other, but neither of them seemed to be able to do that. . . they couldn’t seem to say ENOUGH about the other!

Casey’s thoughts on Tim:

“I have never met anyone like Tim. He is the most loyal friend I have ever known. He does his best to make everyone he talks to feel special. He is spontaneous and goofy and lives to make people laugh. He has encouraged me to follow my dreams and goals more than anyone I have ever known and empowers me to do so.

He is supportive and loves me more despite the hard times we face. Tim makes me feel like I can do anything I want to and still be right by my side to see me succeed or fail, loving me through it all. He is going to be the dad to our children that I have always wanted to have. He knows the deepest struggles I face and his devotion to me doesn’t waver. He is strong, confident, and passionate about those he loves. Tim challenges me to be all the things I have always wanted to be and patiently pushes me to them.

I know Tim is the man I’m supposed to be with because he truly loves me like Christ loves His church. After all, that’s what marriage is all about, isn’t it? He loves me for who I am now, shows me grace when I fall short, teaches me about what really matters in life, and gently motivates me to find my purpose and be the woman I truly want to be.”

Tim’s thoughts on Casey:

“Believe it or not, I was able to narrow down why and how much I loved Casey by giving life/relationship advice to a younger couple at a wedding. I had described how Casey was not the first time I had felt butterflies in my stomach. Butterflies are a great sign of excitement but I can stand next to a bridge and get the same butterflies and I’m pretty sure that’s not love. What stands out with Casey is not the butterflies that many people feel. Butterflies fly away but for a true love to last a lifetime there must be more. It’s what I like to refer to as “stickiness.”

Once a love becomes sticky, it is very hard to live without. The feeling of two people becoming so dependent on one another to the point that life would be impossible if they were to ever leave. Love so sticky that it becomes a mess at times and at other times becomes the daily strength that you pull from to make it through life. I could not imagine living life again without Casey. I am stronger because she is strong and I am a smarter person because of her. Throughout life, most of us will feel the butterflies that are often talked about but I believe that true love begins when those butterflies become the glue that brings two broken people together and makes them whole.

I have often referred to Casey as my other half. This is a common phrase and I know Casey does not fully understand what that means when I tell her. I believe God was half way done with me when I was born on September 7, 1987. Casey was born June 11, 1990 and I believe on that day my other half was complete. My basis for this theory is the observation of how completely different her and I are. We fill gaps in each others’ lives life so perfectly that it must be by design. I struggle daily with discipline and I have never met anyone more disciplined in my life than Casey. She continues to push and grow me in so many ways. I truly believe I would be living under a bridge somewhere if not for her grace. There are not many areas in life where Casey has a hard time but where she struggles, I am strong. I am always there when she has moments of anxiety or is lacking the drive to keep pressing forward. I am the half of Casey that lets her know it’s ok to make a mistake or to laugh at herself when she does something dumb. I have and will always be a reliable constant in Casey’s life. As long as I am alive, she will never go another day without feeling loved.

I love Casey in so many ways but I am reluctant to mention her looks. The girl is smoking hot and way more than I deserve but my love for Casey is more permanent than beauty ever will be. Casey will never truly know my love for her because even as I write this I struggle to find the words. Casey does not know the life I had before her and the demons I struggled with. She does not need to know them because through her love they no longer exist. When you have a light shining as bright in your life as Casey, there is no room for darkness. I love talking about Casey to people and these are not the first time I have expressed these words.

I cannot wait to marry my best friend and my soul mate. I have been saved twice in my life. Once when I came to know the Lord in the spring of 2011 and the second time will be on Saturday March 29, 2014 when I take Casey’s hand to be my wife.”

“. . . clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. . . . And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” Colossians 3:12b, 14