3 Years and Counting!

The day we said, "I Do!"

August 19, 2014. 3 years ago yesterday Andy made me the happiest woman alive by making me Mrs. Weddle. Now marriage was nothing either one of us were unfamiliar with, in fact we have both been previously divorced. So why did this day, this day where I got to marry Andy and become Mrs. Weddle mean so much to me? Well here's why!

The day I met Andy was just another day, but this day was to open up a whole new chapter of my life. One that I never could have imagined. I was the manager at a women's gym called Curves, and I had just finished my morning shift and had some time to kill before my next shift when I decided to go shopping. I'd been struggling a lot with myself and knew that maybe a devotional or some Christian music might put me back on track, so I headed to our local Family Christian Store. Setting in the parking lot I almost didn't even go in, I had no place in a Christian bookstore, that was the old me, not the me now. But I heard a voice telling me to go in, just trust. So I got out, walked up to the door and there, as big and bold as you could ever ask for in a sign, was a Now Hiring sign stuck on the door.

1 Year Anniversary

I wasn't even looking for a job, after all I had a store I was managing at 18, so I was doing pretty good for myself. So I ignored that and just shopped. I was in no hurry, and I had the store to myself and the one sales associate behind the counter. The loud Christian music playing helped put me in the right head space, and I suddenly didn't want to leave. My life outside this store was a mess. I was 18 almost 19, had been married to a guy since I was 16 years old, was living wrong by doing illegal drugs and alcohol with him, and the ONLY thing right about my life was my job. It's where I could pretend all of that didn't exist, I could live the life I desired while I was at work. But I'd get off work, and Hell would set in. I had to return home to a terrible situation that I was unhappy with, yet too scared to change.

I headed to the checkout with a heavy heart and was greeted with a warm smile and cheerful conversation. There it was again, that voice, this time I just listened, I was tired of fighting it. "I saw the Now Hiring sign, do you know which position it's for?" The man behind the counter smiled and told me all about how they were only looking for an Assistant Manager, and how their Manager just needed that right person to fit into their team and help to take some of the load off of his shoulders. He gave me an application, and told me to bring it back and he'd put in a good word for me. So I headed back to work, cranked up some Casting Crowns and bawled my eyes out. How awesome would it be to work in a store like that? To help people like me, who NEED help, to hear God and spread His word.

I filled out the application, I took it back in thinking I would just drop it off and leave. Instead Daniel, the sales associate, told me to hang out a few minutes, that his boss was right around the corner and he could meet with me now. I was petrified, I thought I was just handing this in and leaving, and waiting on a call that would never come. But instead, Andy walked in the door. They talked for a few minutes and then he had me follow him back to his office. A quick on the spot interview went fantastic, and he sent me with some homework to check in to and had me do some calls with his District Managers and fellow store managers. After all, I was pretty young and only had somewhat experience in this area. But after passing everything with flying colors, I became his Assistant Manager.

2 Year Anniversary

But the only reason ALL of that is important, is because from the literal first words I spoke with my now current husband, then future employer, we both noticed right away a connection. Cliche? Sure. Accurate? Unbelievably. However, it took us years to figure out that it wasn't just a Store Manager to Assistant Manager connection. I mean we were both currently married, and he even had a young kid with his wife. But fast forward to me getting divorced not only from my then husband, but from a lifestyle that had had me in chains for years. (That job saved me from every bad/wrong path that I had been on, and was continuing down. So to this day, I'm grateful for God's voice and listening to him that day, so that he could place me where I needed to be, with a support system that I needed, to make the changes necessary, and to be surrounded by His word every day.)

So as I leaned on everyone around me and learned to be truly on my own, somewhere along the way Andy opened up to me. His life behind closed doors wasn't as it appeared to the world (don't we all know that feeling!) and he was hurting and miserable. I was there for him, as he had been for me. We ran an amazing team at work (continuously in the top 10 in the company, in fact) and we would soon learn that it wasn't just our work ethics that aligned. After he had separated and divorced from his wife, we found that anytime we would spend apart we would have rather been together. It didn't take long at all of feeling that way before we realized how truly perfect we were for each other! Being there for each other through the rough patches had really made us appreciative of the good times and our future possibilities together.

3 Year Anniversary

So we had his son Scot, we took in Destiny, and I gave birth to Ben all BEFORE we ever made it official and I became Stephanie Weddle. But from the day we started "dating" to now, I know, without a doubt, that soulmates do exist. That everything DOES happen for a reason, and if we would just listen, that He is leading us right to where we're supposed to be. So when we celebrate our Anniversary, it's more of a celebration of our entire relationship. The day we got married was just a day we picked on a calendar to make it official on, just because I liked the number 19 honestly, but the true celebration comes from somewhere deeper, where our path's crossed and then never drifted apart.

And now here we are, 3 years later, 4 kids together, and smiling because we both know how amazing our journey to get to this point was. And man, oh man, does it make me excited to see where the next 3 years will take us!! 😍 So now you know why every year on August 19th you'll see me with a goofy, cheesy grin. It's because I'm happy and I'm so thankful to be Mrs. Weddle, every single day! (But most especially on August 19th!)