You are marrying my little girl

Jonathan,

You are marrying my baby girl. The one that I shared an actual heartbeat with. That’s a big deal. That takes some processing. So here I sit.

I remember years ago when it was youth day at Apex United Methodist. We all gathered into the crowded sanctuary to hear you preach the sermon. I leaned over to Aunt Debbie and quietly said “can he just marry her”? I’m not sure how much I was kidding at that moment. The heart, faith, confidence that it took to preach that morning was exactly what I hoped that Ashley would find in her future husband. I didn’t actually think at that time it would be you, but I also didn’t think it wouldn’t. From the start of your relationship, I’ve never actually anticipated it’s end. Your love for her and hers for you is easily recognizable. It’s so good and I am so thankful. You make her happy and that makes me happy.

We are excited to welcome you into our family and I’m so thankful that your family is just as excited to welcome Ashley. We are so grateful for how they love our little girl. I wish Poppy and Grammy were going to be with us on your wedding day. I’ll always believed that out of all of us not related by blood, you were Poppy’s favorite (well maybe you and I were tied lol). You’ve won the heart of Granny and even Grandpa thinks pretty highly of you. That all says a lot. As you are well aware, our family has lacked in the areas of cooking and plumbing. In addition to just being the person that you are, bringing those two skills into our family, makes you a keeper.

As you’ve witnessed, our family is a bit of a force. We are “a lot”. Remember that we are and will always be the cavalry whenever you need us and that you are now part of that same cavalry. It can be a blessing or a curse and absolute inconvenience depending on if you are the one in need or the one coming to aid but heads up that it’s what we do. It’s kind of a family requirement (much to Kerby’s dismay). We are a tribe. Embrace it.

My prayer is that you and Ashley together will have a profound relationship with God. This is the foundation of a marriage that will stand the test of time. If your motivation is to care for each other as the hands and feet of God, the hard times will always be worth powering through.

In my daily prayers I pray for all of you on a regular basis. Next to your name I’ve written “faith/calling”. I see something in you Jonathan. You are passionate and smart with just enough faith and curiosity that if tapped into I think you could change the world. My hope is that you seek out what God is calling you to become. You question things but in a way that make you smarter. My gut tells me you are in this world to make a difference. My prayer is that you find a place for your faith in your daily life. That you make what you do for a living make a difference. While earning a living is important, focus on making the world better. Always be more interested in what you don’t know than what you do know and always be focused on impacting the world in a positive way. I can’t wait to see where life takes you! Just don’t physically take it too far away from us!

Remember when things are challenging that the hard times make the good times so much better.  Be in it for the long game because looking back it will be so much sweeter as a life shared together. You are writing a love story so love your story.

Love my Ashley well. She has a HUGE heart and she will love you fiercely. Always love her fiercely right back. Be careful, she can also read people like a book if you haven’t figured that out yet. It’s so annoying 😊. Never assume you can hide your feelings from her. You cannot.

Be her partner and her friend. Always be honest with her and always have her back. Grow in your faith together and grow in friendship together. Protect her.

As you launch into married life, always give Ashley a voice. Her desire is for you to be happy; she is a pleaser. She might subconsciously default to you. Be cognizant of that, especially in big decisions.

Ashley is kind and sweet and good. She deserves to be loved well. Every day remember that she is and will always be your beautiful bride. Make her feel as special in twenty, thirty, forty, and even fifty years as you do on September 20, 2024.

We are so happy that you found each other, and we cannot wait to celebrate you both!

Welcome to the family (officially). We are so thankful you are here.

We are so thankful that you stayed calm and the bear walked away.

Love,

Your now favorite Mother-In-Law

-Laurie

PS: This message has been read and approved by Jim LOL

 As I post this the wedding is four months in the rear-view mirror. It was glorious. Ashley calls Jonathan her model husband because he rocked the wedding photos. He really did. Jonathan, I expect great things from you in all future family photoshoots.