I know the Apostle Paul said that singleness was to be preferred over marriage, but just remember this the next time you read that verse…he never met Sonja.

On December 21, 2002, Sonja and I walked the aisle and were joined in marriage.  Today we celebrate nine years of the LORD’s faithfulness to us in this covenant and feel so blessed as we look at all the wonderful things He has done.  Sonja and I first met at a college and young adult gathering at our church, Bethlehem Baptist.  A casual conversation revealed my last name to have strong hockey ties and she, along with her sister, to be the possessors of some season tickets to Gopher hockey games.  I didn’t have any paper other than a recent bank statement (don’t worry, the totals weren’t impressive), so I used it to scribble down my number in case her sister ever wanted to give up her ticket.

My thoughts were pretty much on the opportunity to catch a Gopher hockey game, until the following night, when another event over the Christmas holiday brought a similar group together, this time to go skating.  Who would have guessed that redhead was a figure skater?  Surrounded by good friends who were NOT skating aficionados, Sonja and I spent almost the entire night talking together (about three hours) as we circled the rink over and over at a pretty good pace.

She was so fun and engaging to talk with and I think that has been the hallmark of our relationship…we love talking together.  And so today, we celebrated nine years of marriage with a conversation over lunch at a small Norwegian restaurant.

Happy anniversary Sonja….I love you!

Here’s a picture of us on the night before our wedding…at the skating depot in Minneapolis: