Melissa + Darrell

This year, my husband and I celebrated our tenth wedding anniversary. In honor of this, we had our own little photo session.
Darrell and I actually went to school together with one another our entire life. When we were seniors in high school, we connected a little but it never became anything. Then about a year after graduation, I continued to pray for my mate. I am a strong believer in God creating a counterpart for everyone. I remember sitting in my room so sad and confused; I was so lonely. I just prayed and prayed. I would say ironically, but I know it was Jesus, I received a text from Darrell saying he was coming in that weekend and wanted to see if I wanted to meet up. Y’all I was still oblivious. So Friday came, and I never heard from him…Finally, around 11 pm I text and asked if he had made it home. He responded that he had and was just driving around. If you knew me in my younger days, you would know I was a bit feisty. After arguing he picked me up about an hour later. IT was so strange because in high school we had hung out and road around but this was different. I remember when he dropped me off I kept coming up with excuses for him to get out of the car in hopes he would kiss me….well he didn’t so I grabbed him and kissed him myself. I told ya I was feisty;)
The next day we laid in the back of his truck and looked at the stars. It was such a weird moment for me but laying there with him I was at peace. It was a comfort I had never felt. It was in the instant I realized that my prayers had been heard and Jesus answered them. From that moment on, we were inseparable. He was in the Marine Corps, so I only saw him on the weekends. But every weekend we were attached at the hip. We were only together for 6 weeks when he came home and told his mom he would buy a ring.
After Darrell proposed, we found out he would deploy that December. We quickly planned a wedding for October 24th, 2019. That was such a magical day for me. After we got married, time seemed to fly by until it was time for him to go. I remember when we went to drop him off my stomach was turning. It worried me; I was sad, but most of all my comfort was gone. They say your mate is your counterpart and fills all your voids. Darrell is that to me, it is like a puzzle and he fills all the pieces to make me whole. I felt as if I had shattered. But when I was at my worst and I was at my saddest, he sent me the sweetest note that I will never forget.
“don’t be sad or afraid for when I am gone I am not far from you, my heart and soul remain with you and my love only grows stronger as the days pass by”
Talk about a hallmark movie! Now I will not pretend the last ten years have been all sunshine and roses. We have had our struggles like anyone else. In fact, our friends joked we were like Noah and Allie off of the Notebook because we can fight as much as we love each other. However, my life with this man has had much more love and joy that I can begin to express. I have so many Hallmark movie moments with this man I continually thank Jesus for him.
When we did our photos, we did a little vowel renewal. I wrote him a letter, and he wrote me one. I won’t share the details with you but I can tell you it was filled with love and silliness. My two favorite things about him are his heart and his sense of humor. So know you have a little back story on me. I can’t wait to get to know you and hear about your love stories. At your wedding, we will be friends. We will celebrate in your together<3