The last 2 weeks before the wedding were somewhat traumatic for me. Great but traumatic. At that point both Endrit and I were prepared and willing to enter into marriage knowing that we would work out anything that would arise. Wedding prep had taught us that. Endrit went through the temple that weekend 2 weeks before the wedding because he would be unavailable the next weekend and everyone knew that we would be good for the last 2 weeks. It was an amazing experiance to be the one that was previously endowed. Usually, LDS men are missionaries and come home and get married to women who have yet to go through the temple. Endrit and I were just the opposite. They still had me come to the brides council before the new girls went through the temple for the first time. The girls sat on the front row and the Mothers sat right behind them. The girls asked where my Mom was and I told them in Ukraine. I told them my story and circumstances and had everyone in the room in tears. No matter what happened during the wedding planning, at that moment, every single girl there was truly greatful that their parents were able to be there. It was an amazing moment for me and the other girls in the room. It is becuase of these experiences that I do not hold anything against my parents for knowing that the Lord wanted them to be in Ukraine while I was getting married.
The temple was an amazing experience to see the man I love take upon him the promises of the temple and truly be worthy and able to make those covenents. I know how the men feel as their bride gets ready for eternal marriage. I am so happy to have had this opportunity.
The traumatic part of the story is that I was meeting Endrit's parents for the first time 1 week before the wedding. We were picking them up at the airport and that is why Endrit had to go through the temple the week previous. I was so nervous because not only did I have to meet his parents, we were taking a week long road trip from Salt Lake to San Diego to visit one of my Mother-in-law's cousins and then back to Pocatello through the Grand Canyon with only 1 day to spare before the wedding. I was getting back the night before the reception...cutting it a bit close.
The San Diego visit was weird. I saw my Father-in-law have a cigarette and a beer right in front of me when he was supposed to be following the word of wisdom. I couldn't eat and I felt so bad for Endrit because he now knew why his parents were not endowed and therefore not able to come to the wedding. It hurt me so much to see this happen because they would be the grandparents to my children and I want good examples for them. They saw me cranky because I was tired and we couldn't find a hotel. His parents made fun of him because we stayed in the same room as his parents because of obvious reasons even when they offered to pay for a separate room. They didn't understand that we were good kids going against the customs of Albania. We almost crashed and we had a great time at Grand Canyon. We stopped at Hoover Dam. Basically the stops that my parents had taken me on while moving from Arizona to Utah to Idaho back to Arizona and back to Idaho. It was a fun trip and we were worn out when we got back into Pocatello right on time Thursday night. It was tiring, I gained weight because of traveliing food so high in sodium, but it was a really nice way to figure out about this family I was marrying into. It saddened me but I thought I could help them gain the testimony they needed.
No comments:
Post a Comment