Three sisters were having a conversation about relationships and marriage. “I will be walking down the aisle in two years,” exclaimed Ann. Her sisters laughingly asked her, “Oh, yeah? “Who is he?” You are not even dating anyone.” Ann answered, “I don’t know who he is or where he is, but I am telling y’all, I will be walking down that aisle!”
Now feeling a bit ridiculed inside, Ann holds on to her words of conviction and declaration and begins to dialogue within. “I will be walking down that aisle, Lord. I don’t know who he is, but you do! I deserve to have someone to share my life with as long as I live here. I will make a good wife and mother. I know that I have a lot to offer to my future husband.”
After the first year went by, several romantic interests entered Ann’s path. She became a bit disheartened due to the lack of maturity and sincerity of the men in her path. If they were not alluding to sexual engagement, their mindset was full of foolishness and frolic. Ann believed in having a strong spiritual walk with her Creator and sought this attribute as well in a potential mate. She aspired to having a life which provided her ample comfort with the ability to assist others and had hopes of finding the same proclivities in a mate.
Consequently, Ann continued on with her life working and attending college and thus, allowed these two areas to pacify her as she continued in hopes of finding suitable companionship. At the time she lived with her aging grandparents who were suffering illness. She soon had to withdraw from college due to her grandfather’s illness turning for the worst. He had been diagnosed with rectal cancer and had undergone surgery. She felt compelled to assist her grandparents during this period in their lives.
Ann soon finds herself lamenting her situation and begins to cry out for inner help. “Lord, I need some help! Granddaddy is slowly dying. Grandma is stressed out! My family is too busy to help. This is a lot! Granddaddy is getting weaker and weaker! He is in a coma and he is the one who has always been so strong for the whole family. I just want him to be well again. I just want to see both of them happy again. I want to see the family back to normal. Lord, this is tearing me apart.”
Now, feeling the need more than ever, Ann’s longing for companionship becomes more pronounced. She receives a call from one of her sisters who stated that there is a young man who might be of interest to her. He had been previously introduced to Ann and she did not find him interesting. He had previously experienced a broken relationship and friends were trying to help him to recover. Ann skeptically agreed to meet him.
The two of them agreed to meet at a central location. The chemistry between them had changed for the better. They began to talk and an initial five minutes of conversation became a $50 long-distance call. He supported her via conversation as he lived in another stated. He was very supportive as her grandfather’s health continued to decline. He passed away. Ann’s new friend became a strong support in her life.
After the funeral services of her grandfather, they went to the park as a release for Ann. During their time together, her friend expressed that he was falling in love with her and asked they could go for another walk. She agreed. They became engaged after a month of conversations.
They had a one-year engagement period and yes, from the declaration of walking down the aisle of marriage, Ann walked down the aisle and was married to her friend. They became parents after a marriage of two-years and seven months. They had their first son together and became the parents of yet, five more additional children...three girls and two more boys.
Ann stood true to her convictions of marriage and found the man of her dreams who shared the same proclivities of goals setting, spirituality and helping others. They continued to grow and shared a marriage of over thirty years together. When asked what kept their marriage together Ann stated, “We have kept the communication line opened and allowed the other person to be whom and what they were. We allowed each other to grow and supported each other. We never forgot to be each other’s friend and always, always, love. Whatever it takes to keep my family and marriage together...do it?... I Will!”