Married Life

My best friend and her husband are in town.

They recently passed the six-month mark of marriage.

2013 was a year of change and growth, especially relationally. I am so grateful for people who loved me through this process.

Tali Rose loved me well in 2013, and it was my delight to stand as her matron of honor last summer. These past six months have been a new season in our friendship, and they have been refreshing and lovely.

Tyler and I spent a quiet and chilly New Year's Eve on our favorite beach with Tali and Garrett. We enjoyed the solitude of the Island and the fellowship of friends and welcomed in the New Year wrapped in blankets and the warmth of conversation. It'll be hard to top that New Year's Eve. We all voted it the best yet. 

I have been hesitant to publish these words, because they are special and were spoken with great depth and difficulty in the presence of close friends and family. If they were true then, they are even more sincere today.

To my bestie,

Good choice - Garret is a keeper! I love being married BFFs with you! It's the best. Hands down.

June 16, 2013

Tali Rose and Garrett,

It is my joy and honor to stand beside you both as you begin your new life together. From my nearly 12 months of experience, I can say I find marriage to be a most incredible adventure. I highly recommend it. You will grow and learn and love more than you ever thought possible.
Garrett, although we haven’t had the opportunity to get to know one another, I have come to know you - albeit in part - through Tali. It is evident that you lead her to Jesus and bring her tremendous joy. And you have the guts tell her when her adventurous ideas are borderline dangerous, so I know she'll be in good hands with you. You have found great favor in the eyes of my best friend, and this alone is reason for me to say that you have found favor with me. With joy, I stand aside and commend you, "Enjoy the late nights, the sleepovers, the laughing-until-you-can't-breathe feeling, the tears, the dinner parties, the cranberry mimosas, the spontaneous adventures, the Speed Scrabble games, the literary dramatizations, the neighborhood walks...the everyday." And of course, make new favorite pastimes and inside jokes and memories as Mr. and Mrs. Garrett Treece.
Tali Rose, I am thankful that we have been able to share the last fifteen years together - whether by pillow whispers or phone or email. You remind me that beauty is to be enjoyed, that the Gospel is changing lives, and that laughter is good for the soul. So much of you has shaped who I am. The LORD penned you as a main character in my story, and I treasure each chapter in our history. Now you have the amazing privilege of building a life-long history with Garrett and watching your story unfold. While I feel a twinge of sadness when I think of how we've grown and the changes that have ensued - the good and necessary changes - I am overcome with gratitude, for I know that all of this is Grace. From playing orphans in the treehouse to loving the needy at the Brickyard, from biking to the “halfway point” to completing our triathlon, from losing pet sitting keys to finding the men of our dreams -  all is Grace, and we are blessed. I am blessed to call you my bestie and know that wherever life takes us that we will always share memories - memories from our childhood, memories from this day, and memories we've yet to uncover.
I want to leave you both with words from Cummings - words which Tali left with me when she moved to Idaho.
"I carry your heart with me (I carry it in my heart)I am never without it (anywhere I go, you go my dear)"
You will always hold a treasured place in my heart. I love you and pray God's best over you. To Tali and Garrett.

January 2014