So about a year and a half ago, at Thanksgiving, my aunt told me a secret: she had signed up for an online dating site. After having been divorced for 30+ years, she was more than ready and more than a little nervous to begin the journey to finding someone with whom she could spend eternity. I was thrilled for her and excited to be her confidant in the sometimes-scary world of online dating. I had been considering that bold move myself, and together my aunt and I had a few good discussions about why this was going to be a good thing—no matter what, we told ourselves. It would be healthy and useful to get to know different people and to work on developing relationships.
Fast forward to a few months ago, and while I've been on this roller coaster of dating craziness (which ultimately ended in my getting off online dating {minus Tinder, of course}), and I'm happy to say that my aunt found her perfect match. So it was with tears of happiness that we welcomed her new husband into our family a few weeks ago.
My aunt just so happens to be pretty good friends with one Elder and Sister Oaks, so he performed their marriage ceremony in the Salt Lake Temple. It was so sweet. I knew that I couldn't remember everything he said, but I did make a strong mental note of two things he said prior to the official ceremony. He talked about how we choose marriage partners for their similarities as well as for their differences. I loved that idea. Obviously everyone is going to have differences, but I know that for me, I don't want someone who is exactly the same as me. I already have one of me. I just love that idea of choosing someone for their differences as much as for their similarities.
The other thing he said that really struck me was this: he said to the soon-to-be-wed couple that in a few minutes he was going to pronounce them husband and wife, but no one can pronounce happiness or kindness or gentleness or selflessness or any of the other things that are required to make a marriage work. Those are things that you have to work at every day and learn to develop within a relationship. I just thought that was a sweet idea.
And so of course I bawled through the whole thing. It's me. But I loved Aunt Linda's reminder to "never, never, never, never give up." The fact that she found someone so great for her is proof that the Lord is always watching over us and that He can do anything.
Here are just a few of my favorite pics from the big day:
The happy, happy couple.
My parents and quite possibly the funniest aunt-and-uncle duo ever.
Brother and sis-in-law with a photobombing cousin.
Aunt Linda with her kids and their kiddos. Love those matching blue ties, and their wearers.
Cute cousins!
Me and the sibs.
Just brunching with "Dallin," as he introduced himself as.
Corner-of-the-temple selfie.
Beards much?
Sibling selfie, minus a few.
The temple on a perfect day!
This little guy. My heart.
So here's to never giving up. Here's to getting outside your comfort zone and trying new things to meet new people. And here's to eternity! So happy for you, Ron and Linda!
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