3 Years Later: Honeymooning in Chi?
God redeems all things.
Three years ago I would have laughed in your face if you had told me I’d be honeymooning in Chicago… actually, I would have laughed if you told me that six months ago too…
Chicago is where I had my first heartbreak, and a girl never forgets that. Ever since then, I knew i would never get married in that city or even really hang out there with my new now husband… too much sadness and too many memories.
But Chicago is also one of my favorite cities, so there was a tinge of sadness every time I’d think about that.
When I brought my fiancé up to visit my family a few months ago, we ended up in Chicago. I honestly wasn’t sure how it was going to go, but being there with him totally flipped my perspective. It reminded me that memories only hurt if you let them, and letting any of that old hurt attempt to ruin your happiness with the one you love is only going to bring more, new hurt.
So when we had the opportunity to come back to Chicago for a mini-moon I actually jumped at the chance- because Cam and I had already started to create new memories in this heart of America.
God has given me dozens of hard lessons in these past six months, but they have all turned out more beautiful than anything myself or Cam could have designed.
As I lay in bed last night with the curtains open, looking at the Chicago skyline after I just had the most beautiful day and night with the love of my life- my new husband- I couldn’t help but remember how much that skyline used to bring me so much sadness, and now all it brings me is joy and gratitude for the people and things God has put in my life… but also the people and things he has taken from me.
Our wedding a few days ago was more beautiful than I could have ever imagined and blessed in ways I cannot describe, and coming off of that high into a city of wonder, a city that holds so much beauty at Christmas time is more than we could have dreamed of.
These are just my late night thoughts… and I hope they give some hope to you if you’re reading this, feeling like your situation is hopeless or the memories of your past won’t stop haunting you.
Our past can control us if we let it, or God can control our past and our future if we let him. Let him have control. I promise it will work out better than you could have ever imagined.