We Still Do

Our love story begins with a country boy meeting a city girl over 22 years ago. We were the tender ages of 22 and 23 when we first met. Our first acquaintance with each other didn’t start off well and quite frankly I thought Niki was playing games when he told me his name was Niki. I believe he thought I was being difficult when I asked him to stop playing. Needless to say, after that one conversation, we talked everyday thereafter. That day forward, I became the beat to his drum and he became the chord to my keys. When we first got married, some betted against us that our marriage wouldn’t survive, but we are living testimonies! You know the song that goes “They say I wouldn’t make it, they say I wouldn’t be here today, but I’m still holding on” by Luther Barnes. That song is the gospel truth and our mantra! We have seen sunshine through every storm and even on the cloudiest of days always find a way to still smile. No matter what punches life has thrown at us, our love has been unshakable, firmly supported, reliable, undeviated and continuous. To offer some context, we have always put ourselves last and made countless sacrifices to always be present for others. We have endured tragedies, traumatic events and health crisis. Love has taught us that you don’t give up when life gets tough. It has taught us that you don’t waiver or drift during confusion. Love should not be hard, selfish, unkind or strained. The most important thing we have learned is being sacrificial for each other. For the first time in our lives, we want to take some time and celebrate 20 years of steady love. The beauty of it all is our love has never wavered from each other. There has always been a humbling continuous path that we have traveled that reminds us of our passion, strength and support for each other no matter the times of adversity. This celebration is not to boast, but simply an expression of love and special moment in time in which we also wanted to honor each other in the presence of our closest family and friends. Your support rather physical, emotional or spiritual has meant the world to us over the years. It has been through the Grace of God we made it this far and we look forward to many more years together and cherishing each of you being in our lives. 1 Corinthians 13 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, and it keeps no record of wrongs.