On September 20, 2007, Clark and I walked down to our local courthouse and got married.

Let's backtrack a little bit.

As mentioned in the Introduction, we got married because we realized how precious time is. Everyone learns this lesson. Whether it's because of a run-in with death in one way or another, or growing old and regretting things that weren't done, it's an inevitable lesson. We learned because one of my best friend's from high school was found, or rather her remains were found. She went missing in January of 2005 and her remains were found September 12, 2007. It was a reality shock. Even after so long, there's always that feeling of hope. It was shattered.

Clark and I had been engaged for a little over a week when that happened. After staying in bed for a day crying, I was the one who approached Clark about "eloping". We had joked about it before, being incredibly impatient to get married or at least share with others that we were engaged, but it really was a joke.

I wasn't joking this time. Finding out about my friend really made me reassess mine and Clark's relationship. If we were ready to be married, or at least thought we were, why did we have to wait for when other's would find it acceptable? Why couldn't we just get married right then?

So, we planned it. We went to Asheville that weekend and bought wedding bands, invited a few friends to come to the "ceremony" and dinner afterwards, and agreed to "tell" our parents that day after we had done it.

When I say "tell", I mean send them an e-mail.

On September 20, 2007, we walked to the courthouse and got married in front of a judge. I dressed up in a white sweater dress with a blue sash and my Rainbow flip-flops. Clark wore black dress paints and his nice white shirt with French cuffs. My dorm roommate and a friend followed us and were the witnesses that signed the certificate.

After we said our vows and signed the certificate, the judge said, "Please tell me your parents know about this."

Oh if only she knew.

Afterwards we walked down the street holding hands, acting like we were the greatest things since sliced bread. We were married. I'm not sure the reality of the situation set in until much later. The things we hadn't thought of, the challenges we were going to face, and so forth. We had only been thinking of the now. The present. We didn't think of how this would change the rest of our lives.

Looking back, I can truly say we made the right decision.

When I say that, I mean I know we were meant to be together and I do not regret for one second getting married.

How we got married probably wasn't the best or most thought out plan. But, with God's grace and guidance, we made it through that first year-- and almost four years more thus far.