It was October 1986 when I met him for the first time. Friends had introduced us, and we went to a haunted house for our first date. After that first date we didn’t stop talking or seeing each other for the next two years. We fell in love – so much so that we wanted to get married.

I know that a lot of you reading this will not buy into the next part of my story. That’s okay. You don’t have to. It’s my story. I know I was young, but I genuinely and deeply loved him.

One beautiful fall day, we hiked into the woods. We decided that all we needed was for God to marry us. We professed our love to each other and, yes, exchanged vows – just us, and God. We meant every word. But, like I said, we were young. We let circumstances and people (including our parents) get in the way. We broke up and went our separate ways.

The day that I cried out to the Lord for a husband that would love me. I thought of that boy from years ago who had loved me so much. I remembered the day we had married in the woods. I craved that love again. I deserved to be loved. God answered my prayer. We found each other again.

That boy is now my husband. Again. Some may disagree, but I believe in my heart that we were truly married that day in the woods before God. I wonder if that is why my other marriages (and his) didn’t work out. He was my true and my true love.

Since my marriage March 24, 2006, I have been blessed and for the first time, I am happy. I feel I am now where I belong. I wish everyone could be as happy in their marriages as I am in mine. God is awesome! He does restore and bless.