Two weeks before my wedding to Jim. It should’ve been the happiest time of my life. Instead, I sat in my car parked outside the courthouse, crying up a storm. Was I really destined to be Mrs. Jim Dunn? If we couldn’t even get through planning a wedding, what did that say about the future of our marriage?
I’d just picked up our marriage license and had called Jim afterwards to vent about my stressful day of errands. “Sweetheart, slow down and relax,” he’d said in that calm way of his. Relax? Easy for Jim to say! He lived seven hours away, so I was the one planning our dream wedding, from the centerpieces to the vanilla cake. I was so frustrated I hung up the phone.
Sign Up for Guideposts Free e-Newsletters and Get Inspiration Delivered to Your Inbox
It’s not that I didn’t love Jim. The man made me weak in the knees! He was sweet, considerate and made me laugh like no one else. We’d met in high school, but didn’t reconnect until 20 years later when he sent me a Facebook message out of the blue.
“Remember me?” he wrote. “I was the big funny redhead in your debate class!”
We messaged back and forth, quickly became friends. I told him all about my first marriage at age 20. How my ex walked out on me after two weeks. Jim confessed he’d had a major crush on me in high school. Pretty soon, though, I was the one with a crush. I’d avoided relationships, scared of getting hurt again. But when Jim and I finally met in person, I was struck by his kind smile. I kissed him on the spot. Less than a year later, we were engaged. I’d finally found love.
But what if I was wrong? What if my marriage ended up in shambles, just like the first time? I gripped my steering wheel. Tears blurred my vision. Please God, I prayed, let me know if I’m doing the right thing marrying Jim!
I dried my tears on the back of my hand, slid the key into the ignition and looked up. That’s when I saw it. Parked right in front of the courthouse. A white semi-trailer with giant block letters across its side. And two words that told me my marriage to Jim Dunn would be built to last:
DUNN CONSTRUCTION.
