We weren’t babies when we walked down the aisle and said “I do.”  I turned 32 the week before the wedding and we had both lived a good bit of life before we even met.  We’ve talked so much about how we wish we’d met before we did so that we could have already had more time together… potentially even grown up some together (because a lot of growing up happens in your 20s!).

BUT neither of us was ready for the other before the time we actually met.

Even if we’d crossed paths before 2010, we probably wouldn’t have moved passed just saying hello :-)  I didn’t love waiting as long as I did to find my husband, but I knew God had a plan and I knew His plan was worth waiting for.  Some days were easier than others, I made lots of mistakes along the way, and there were many days I tried to take things into my own hands.  But in the end, God’s plan unfolded and OUR story began.

So, all of this to say, if you are single and wanting to be married, I get it!!  I lost count of how many weddings I attended or was a bridesmaid in.  And before I knew it, those friends were having babies and I was still waiting to meet my husband.  But the truth is, I would rather still be single and following Jesus than to be with the wrong person.

Our marriage hasn’t been perfect.  We’ve had lots of highs!!  We have two beautiful baby girls, a warm house, lots of family close by, a solid church, and a community of people that love and support us.  But we’ve had our fair share of lows.  Our first pregnancy wasn’t viable so we walked through a miscarriage, postpartum depression hit me pretty hard after Isabella was born, and for the first year of her life, Ben and I felt more disconnected than ever.

But God.

God has never left us and He is always willing to bring us back in when we start to lose sight of things.  And as a testament to who He truly is, I can’t imagine walking any of these highs OR lows with anyone other than Ben.  He is such a gift and I’m so thankful for these last 7 years of being Mrs. Fields.

Wedding photos by Jana Candler and Kim DeLoach

See more from our 7th anniversary session in NYC by Ashley Therese Photography HERE!