This is more of a personal post as oppose to most of our bridal posts, however I felt it was very important to share.
*Brides, the post at the bottom is mainly to share with you.
A year ago today the world lost an amazing person and heaven gained a very courageous man! My best friends father, Dwight, fought a hard battle against ALS (also known as Lou Gehrigs Disease). You can read more about his story: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/djohnson/mystory
This is a photo taken of the Johnson family at the Courage Walk in 2009 to raise money and awareness about ALS
Ryan and his dad posing with the sign for “Strength”
Courage Walk and Dwight’s Fight against ALS team members! I will forever remember that day!
The story I want to share for my brides and grooms is about the love for your spouse.
The things I will remember most about Dwight are these:
1. His love for others and the Lord
2. His words of wisdom regarding family: “Spend 8 hours working, 8 hours sleeping and 8 hours with your family, every day”
3. The way he lived his life and shared with everyone he knew
4. His strength and courage and the way he continued to tell ‘others’ to be strong when he was physically the most weak
5. Remember the songs we all sang with him a week ago this year (Listening to Sister Hazel will never be the same)
6. His work ethic and will for life
7. In the last hours of his life he was telling everyone around him to take care of each other and not once mentioned his pain.
Learning that life is so precious through a person who was the definition of Strength and Courage was not only proven by Dwight but by his wife, Debbie. She stood out the most to me. She was the perfect example of how to love your spouse. From the moment they discovered they needed to go to the Doctor, through appointments, later hospital visits, to home care and then to Hospice- she was by his side completely.
When you get married to the love of your life, you think about what vows you are saying so you can have the perfect Ceremony. But are you thinking about how to ‘live out those vows’?
I can only imagine what kind of strength Debbie had in her to get through each day, but any time I spent with her she showed how grateful she was to have an amazing life with her husband. She cherished the memories they were able to share together. She crafted albums to cherish of their many adventures they had with their beautiful family. As I’m sure each day brought it’s own challenges, Debbie did not complain. She took care of her husband in “sickness and in health.”
The details of a beautiful wedding are the most special when they are represented in a celebration of the love you have between you and your significant other. My hope for each one of my clients is that you continue to share the Joy you have on your wedding day through the good times and the hard times in your marriage.
“Be strong. Be Courageous.”
-Amy
