“ Love is patient , love is kind . It does not envy , it does not boast ... Love never fails ...”
One day , I had just had enough . I began looking back over my past and did not recognize who I was . Due to my bad decisions , I was so far from where I wanted to be in life . I realized I was broken and needed to fix my life . But , I needed help to do that , so I went back to what my parents always instilled in me as a little girl , and that was God . Getting to know God was the absolute best decision in my life ! He became my best friend ! Through His Word , I began to discover that His love for me is endless and that there ’ s nothing I can do to stop His love , regardless of my actions towards Him ! God showed me that true love is patient and kind . He showed me in His Word that His love holds no grudges . I allowed God ’ s light to fill in the cracks of my shattered heart . I began learning how to love myself the way God loves me . Trusting God to fix the broken parts of me was the greatest gift in life .
My husband and I had dated back in 2007 for a year , but I ended the relationship because we were on different paths in life at the time . For eight years , we had continued a good friendship , but I decided to date other people . Every time I would get my heart broken by someone who I assumed loved me , Damion was always a friend and a listening ear - someone who would encourage me and speak God ’ s Word to me to uplift my spirit .
One day , as I was sitting at my desk at work , God spoke to my heart and said , “ I ’ m preparing Damion to be your husband .” I began to cry because , at the time , I was with someone else , and I couldn ’ t grasp what God was telling me . However , I also was praying to God that He clear my path of anything that was not like Him and remove it from my life . I also prayed that God would send me someone who loved me the way He did . Days passed , and while I was on the phone with Damion , he told me that he had been praying and that he had faith in God that I was going to be his wife ! God amazes me at how clever He is . Needless to say , I became single again , and once more I found my best friend , Damion , ready to comfort me and to help me through another heart break .
I finally decided to give Damion a chance on love . I was truly giving him the power to break my heart , while at the same time trusting him not to do so . Previously , I had prayed to God , asking for a man to love me the same way He loved me . I wanted someone that was patient . Most importantly , I wanted a man of God with strong faith because if we had God in the middle , we would always be able to work out anything . I ’ m thankful to say that God answered my every prayer . Damion has every quality I had wanted in a husband . He may not be perfect , but he always remains respectful and humble , and he loves me like crazy ! What I admire most about my husband is his faith . Despite the fact that I was in another relationship , Damion trusted God that I would be his wife . He trusted God for something that , at times , seemed so impossible . In spite of the circumstances , his faith in God was greater than anything his eyes could see . I often ask my husband how he knows how to love , and he always refers me to 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 . And from this day foward , I will forever use these verses to evaluate myself as a wife .
“ Love is patient , love is kind . It does not envy , it does not boast ... Love never fails ...”
Ashley Allen works at Stokes Regional Eye Care in Patient Services and her husband , Damion is a deputy for the Florence County Sheriffs office . She would like to thank everyone who so lovingly made she and Damion ’ s wedding a success : her parents , Doris and JR Mckenzie , her brother and sister-in-law , Kenyon and Moneka Patterson , younger sister , Whitney Mckenzie .
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