Lifelong love: Sarah and John Paul

On the wedding day

The stage was already set for romance when Sarah and John Paul met... at the wedding of friends. It was well known that Sarah had a weakness for red hair, so when a church friend saw the two of them talking there, she predicted marriage!

Sarah and John Paul have been married a whopping four years.... are you wondering why I'm including their young love in a lifelong series?

It's because their marriage is a miracle.

Seven years ago, Sarah was involved in an awful car accident, and suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) that left her comatose for one and a half months. By the grace of God, she lived, and began to recover, spending the next eighteen months in hospitals.

Against expectations, she is living a full and blessed life. She has met the man that God had for her, even while her family wondered if she would ever breathe on her own again. Not only has she learned to walk again, she was able to walk down the aisle, and she was able to speak before God, and her family and friends, to vow that she would love John Paul for life.

They have gone one to be blessed with three beautiful, healthy, energetic children!

Sarah's daily life is a testimony. She is a bright (and sassy) example of diligence, perseverance, thankfulness, and strong faith to those around her. She has physical and emotional struggles to this day, as well as communication and memory difficulties, but she rises above a pity-party and glorifies God. She looks for the positive in each of her trials, celebrates her blessings, and presses on.

Sarah is an inspiration; but she gets stuck sometimes. John Paul has been there for her, with "great patience, quick forgiveness, and generous compassion," to help her work through her frustrations and limitations. He inspires her to find different or better ways to accomplish her goals. He shares her faith, and he encourages her to know not just what she believes, but also why. He makes an effort to listen to his wife, and to be sure he understands what she has said. He is patient to repeat important information that may slip her mind, and to re-answer her questions, if necessary.

Now; with their three blessings

Sarah will tell you that their love has lasted, in part, due to their mutual efforts to defer to one another, and her willingness to obey her husband.

Her wisdom for newlyweds: Be quiet, and really listen to each other.



If you'd like to share your lifelong love story, please email me at foreversweetheartsbridal@gmail.com