Last time I blogged, I wrote about after "Happily Ever After". Because of events in the lives of friends of mine, today I want to write about waiting for "Happily Ever After".
Let's begin this story with "Once Upon a Time", because so many of the best stories start that way...
Once upon a time, there was a young man named Ken Harris. Kenny was raised in a good and loving home by parents who loved the Lord and taught their children to do the same. Around the time Kenny was 21 years-old, our paths crossed and we became good friends. Over the years things changed, we moved on with our lives, but always stayed in touch and our friendship endured.
In a different place, there lived a beautiful, effervescent woman named Sonja Nelson. Sonja was also born to good and loving parents who taught her to love the Lord and keep His commandments.
Ken and Sonja each lived their lives, unknown to each other. Both served missions and served faithfully in the Church. Both went to school and had careers that they loved. Both longed to find "the one" and receive the blessing of marriage. Both longed for it, but neither found it...
Years passed...not one or two...not even five or ten. Decades passed and the dream of Temple marriage only seemed to get farther and farther out of reach. Now, don't think that Sonja and Ken were miserable. They had moments of sorrow and loneliness, but both remained steadfast and filled with faith. Honestly, effervescent is truly a word that described Sonja - and it still does! 😊
Call it fate, call it serendipity... I call it Divine Intervention. Life and circumstances brought Ken to Utah for a change in his job. That is where it all began, because Sonja was also here in Utah and working at the same place. That was it...Ken and Sonja met... It makes me think of the Brady Bunch song. "...One day when the lady met this fellow - and they knew that it was much more than a hunch".
Love spoke and two hearts that had at times despaired, now beat in time with each other. "Whirlwind" is a word that could be used to describe their courtship. lol ...and just like that, they were engaged!! 💍
Oh, what a joyous day their wedding day was. I don't think there was a dry eye during the beautiful ceremony. If my heart was overflowing with joy for my friends, I can only imagine how theirs felt!
With this joy in their hearts, Sonja and Ken took their first steps into their "Happily Ever After".
Continuing the manner in which they had both lived before marriage, Ken and Sonja continued being faithful to their covenants and serving the Lord. Starting a family became a new dream for them. As with many longed-for blessings, this one did not come without cost. The joy they felt in each other was tempered with the loss of several pregnancies. They too, "were newlyweds and now had to learn to go through grief and sorrow together..." *Happy Acres blog 'After...Happily Ever After...' May 21, 2018*
Still they held on to their faith, and each other and did their best to endure it well. Elder Neal A. Maxwell said: "Moreover, we find that sorrow can actually enlarge the mind and heart in order to 'give place,' to expanded space for later joy." The Apostle Paul wrote: "Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness." *Hebrew 12:11*
And so it was with our dearest friends, Ken and Sonja Harris.
On August 16, 2018, just in time to give Kenny the birthday gift of his life; Sonja gave birth to a beautiful baby boy whom they named James. How could two hearts stretch to hold all the love that filled them on that miraculous day????
I look at my wonderful friends and give thanks for the miracles and blessings in their lives. I look deeper and see the love of a concerned Heavenly Father who led each of them through their faith-filled lives and blessed them so abundantly for that faith. As I watch Ken and Sonja begin this adventure we call parenthood, I am grateful for their example of "enduring well".
When you spend time with this new little family, their joy is palpable! The love and happiness they exude is contagious!!! When you look at the Harris family, you see that God DOES answer prayers and miracles still happen!!!
So, Ken, Sonja, and Baby-James....congratulations!!! We wish you love, joy, and every good thing.
...And may you all live "Happily Ever After"!!!!!
