Our Valentine Story

It will come as NO surprise, to anyone who reads my blog from time to time, that I am MADLY in love with my husband. I am sure my romantic rants are almost sickening at times....quite sappy...verging on the edge of unbelievable for some! But I swear on my collection of Paula Deen cookbooks, every word is true!

We actually met at the community ballpark, when we were 12 years old. My brother played pony league....Mark also played ball there. But it was not until Mark started "liking" a girl in my church youth group, and began visiting our church, (Thank you Gaye!), that I really started to get to know him. Almost instantly, Mark and I were great friends....we both loved music...we both loved the Lord...and we could sit and talk for hours at the time, and it would seem like only ten minutes had passed! Before we knew it, we started singing together at church...and as soon as Mark got his drivers license, we started singing at local churches together.....it was just a matter of time before we began writing songs together...and yes, started making beautiful music together.... both musically and romantically :)

Believe it or not....it took us FOREVER to start "dating"...and it did not last very long. I could not handle it. It was too intense...too raw...too real....so I did what any inexperienced teenager would do...I broke up with him. What an IDIOT I was. I did not realize that I was simply afraid of the amazing, new, unique feelings I was having! Feelings of being loved and being known like Mark almost instantly...instinctually...loved and knew me blew my mind and overloaded my heart. He could read me like a book...still can. He loved me despite my flaws...still does. All my friends continued to tell me I was gonna marry him. I told them they were crazy. I was NOT gonna marry Mark Knight. I am so glad that I was wrong, and they were right.

The time between when we broke up and when we got back together brought confusing, difficult, dark waters to navigate. We both dealt with them like typical teenagers did...by consulting our emotionally immature peers :)....and dating other folks. Thankfully we survived the storm, but sadly, we both also came out of that time battered and scarred....BUT, also VERY confident that while we may not have found what we wanted in a relationship...we definitely found out what we did NOT want in a relationship! (If you can relate, can I hear an AMEN, SISTA!!)

Long story short...we did not "date" again until the summer before our second year in college....August 12, 1981, to be exact. I got my diamond on November 2, 1981. We married May 29, 1982. We did not waste time. We knew we were meant to be together! I did not intend on being an idiot twice :).... And although the statistics were stacked highly against our marriage making it. It did. And I know why.

It is not because we are super spouses....it is not because we are lucky....it is not, simply, a fluke. Nope...we have made it almost to our 28th wedding anniversary because we have trusted God with our marriage. We have worked hard to keep our relationship with HIM first. It ain't easy....keeping God first. And Mark and I both suck at it at times. But it works.

So, that is the synopsis of "Our Valentine Story" ...thus far...and Sugar, it ain't nowhere close to being over. No way! Our story gets better every year! And I refuse to imagine one page of the rest of my life without his name written all over it! :)


I love you Mark!...... My Sweet, Incredible, Life-Long, Jesus Loving Valentine <3

~Scarlett