Once upon a time...
...there
was a girl that often dreamed about love, and her greatest wish was to find a
man worthy to take her to the temple one day and marry her forever. The world
told her that love was something that just happened to you, something you
couldn't chose. It told her that when she met that "one person" for
her, fireworks would go off, choirs of Heavenly angels would sing, and she
would "just know" that he was "the one" for her.
Then
one day this girl met a man named Charlie Brown. When they met, there were no fireworks or
Heavenly angels singing, and the only thing she "just knew" was that
he had a funny name. She went about her life dating other men and looking for
"the sign" that would tell her who "the one" was.
As
she continued to date, making mistakes, and even getting her heart broken once
or twice, she learned that what the world told her about love wasn't true. Love wasn't something that "just
happened" to you, it was something much more deliberate and infinitely
more wonderful. Finding eternal love
wasn't really about identifying that "one right" person, rather it
was about choosing the person she
thought she could be the happiest with, the person she wanted to share her life with.
So she made a list of all the attributes and qualities she wanted him to
have and she compared every man she dated to this list.
Then
one day the girl was walking to Sunday school when Charlie Brown pulled her
aside and asked her if she would consider going on a date with him. She was shocked to learn that he was
interested in her. You see, she had
never considered the possibility of dating Charlie Brown. It wasn't that she didn't think he was cute,
because she did, and it wasn't that she thought he wasn't her type
because...well I guess she had just never considered him. But she realized that
even though she hadn't ever considered him, she had definitely noticed him. She noticed how he honored his priesthood and
had a strong testimony. She noticed how he treated those around him with
respect and had a strong desire to serve. She noticed how he always went out of
his way to get a smile out of someone who looked down and how he held the door
open for all women, not just the ones
he was trying to impress. In fact, once she started considering it, she
couldn't believe she had never considered it before, because she noticed that he
had many of the attributes on her list.
So
she said yes, and as they started dating, she noticed more wonderful things
about him. She noticed that he made her laugh every day, and that they could
have fun doing everything or nothing together.
She noticed how he adored her and couldn't go a day without seeing or
speaking to her. She noticed that he respected her and accepted her even with
all of her imperfections. And then one day she noticed that he loved her, more
than any man had loved her, and she noticed that she loved him too. They both
decided that they could be happy together, and he promised her that if she
would choose him, he would make her laugh every day. So on June 17, 2000, Charlie Brown took the
girl to the temple and married her for all eternity.
13
years later, the girl hasn't once regretted that choice. They have gone through
many struggles and shared some major heartbreaks. But to this girl, happily
ever after means enduring the hard times and then reaching for each other at
the end of the day, it means kissing goodbye even when you're mad at that
person, it means bringing her tomatoes and sunflowers instead of chocolate and
roses, and it means finding a moment to say I love you, even when they're both
half asleep. He kept his promise to make
her laugh every day, and he can still give her butterflies in her stomach with
just one look. The past 13 years have been happiest ever after so far, and she
looks forward to an eternity more.
You're
a good man Charlie Brown and I ce-love you!
Thank you for being my love, my best friend, my partner in crime, my
companion in life...my everything. The
greatest gift I could ever give our children, I gave to them 13 years ago today
when I married you. There are no words adequate enough, so I'll just see you later...Happy anniversary!