Happy Anniversary! (God Wins)

So it’s the night before our anniversary and we’re chilling in our living room when Shoy sends me a photo, impelling me on an odyssey of reflection and gratitude:

This was supposed to be a happy morning, a breakfast with my family on the north of the island. It was rather special because it was the first time Shoy would be meeting my parents. But as luck would have it, less than two minutes after we left my home, my vehicle decided it did not want to take us there. Puzzlingly, the vehicle would start but not idle. I tried everything to get myself out of this utterly embarrassing situation. I even enlisted the help of my brother, with a mechanic also assisting on the phone. I could not believe that this was happening. I felt like I was drowning in a sea of humiliation, and haven’t lived it down to this very day. Yet, while I was getting all worked up and annoyed, Shoy seemed quite unbothered, taking selfies. She simply told me that there was no need to be embarrassed because it’s a vehicle and those things happen. She reminded me that her dad is a mechanic so she understood all too well that vehicles are machines and machines malfunction sometimes. She also told me that she had had her fair share of standing somewhere on the roadside with a broken-down vehicle. Eventually we got to our destination. Three and a half hours later, our breakfast became brunch.

Fast forward to five months later, with our wedding just five days away. My family and I were anxiously waiting to travel to Jamaica. Now, traveling in the Caribbean can be very much like country hopping. So we had to fly from Dominica to Barbados to Trinidad then to Jamaica. We had planned for some of us to leave Dominica the Thursday and the others, the Friday. However, heavy and consistent rainfall from the Tuesday into Wednesday as a result of Tropical Storm Matthew, left our airport flooded and closed. Thursday morning came and it was still raining and there was still flooding at the airport. Airport personnel had informed me that they would advise us on flights at 12:00pm that day but when that time came, there was no word from them. But I was not worried because I believed that God knew our happiness depended on this, so we packed our bags and headed to the airport. By the time we arrived the rains had subsided, but the airport was still closed. We were then informed that only three late flights were scheduled. Our flight to Barbados was the first of these. Yet, ninety minutes later, with the other two flights already gone, ours still had not yet landed. Still, I had faith we were leaving soon, and that the next morning at 6:00am, we would be boarding our connecting flight to Trinidad and then on to Jamaica. And that was exactly what happened. We landed that night in Barbados much later than expected, but arriving there was all that mattered.

Fast forward to Saturday night: With all my traveling family members present, it seemed like our entire plan was coming together nicely until we became bombarded by reports that Matthew, now a hurricane, was expected to hit Jamaica late Sunday afternoon, with weather effects early Sunday morning. Our wedding was expected to start at 7:00am Sunday morning. Many of our guests started sending messages inquiring whether or not the wedding was still on. Were they serious? In my mind, God had already proven Himself to us, and I knew if He had allowed us to leave Dominica and get there on time, He would hold back the bad weather until our ceremony was over. That night, after I had said goodnight to my bride-to-be, I drove back to our apartment confident that everything would be alright.

By 6:00 that Sunday morning, I drove to Hope Gardens with my son, my sister and my niece. As I entered the wedding site, the scenery and décor were even more breathtaking in the wake of the sunrise…but  no one was there – not even the chairs were waiting. As I stood there, Shoy’s boss walked up to me and said, “Doe worry bout it Ashley, everyting ago work out just fine.” The missing chairs caused me to worry even more than the threat of the impending hurricane. Shortly after, however, the chairs arrived and our set up was complete. Soon, our family members and guests started filling up the chairs and so too, the sun appeared in the clear blue sky. Behind the tower of trees and flowers, my beautiful bride was in the car waiting – she had promised that she would not be the kind of bride to keep her groom waiting – and she had kept her promise. Although a few of our guests were worried about the weather, we had a lovely ceremony and with the love of family and friends, we became one.

But the fun was not over, because while we were still taking photos, we received notice that all flights scheduled for late that afternoon- including those which my family members and one of Shoy’s friends were booked to return on– were being moved to 11:00am to ensure that they could leave safely before the hurricane made land fall. But since our ceremony was complete by 9:00am, we sped up the picture-taking process and all traveling my family members and Shoy’s friend were able to make it to their flights on time.

On to our honeymoon now: For weeks we had been so excited about our honeymoon spot – Great Hut Resorts, with sand for flooring, and lovely waterways to relax for four days. But hours before our check-in time the weather had changed, and the lightning, winds and rain began. As the resort was in a flood prone section of the island and had to close, we were forced to cancel our original plan. With the help of Shoy’s sister, Shantayaé, we checked into the Four Seasons Hotel as an alternate honeymoon spot. Shortly after checking in, we ventured out, driving through the windy, rainy, deserted roads in Kingston, looking for a supermarket or shop that was still open so we could get some extra snacks and drinks. But there appeared to be no hope. Everywhere was shut down. Just as we were about to give up, we noticed one gas station in Liguanea that was still open, and we quickly collected a few goodies and headed back to the hotel. It was not long before the winds and rain, thunder and lightning intensified, and our ground floor room began flooding. The hotel staff helped us to gather our items, and they quickly moved us to another room on a higher floor. On the bright side, for our troubles we got a room with much better amenities, and an even more comfortable bed. And in retrospect, it was the perfect weather for our first night as a married couple – we became each other’s safety, warmth and comfort. And it was quite prophetic, as we would have and hold each other through many storms. Although our original honeymoon plans were squashed, we certainly made some lovely memories while God was miraculously diverting a hurricane.

Two weeks later as we checked in at the airport to fly to Dominica, our smiles quickly turned into frowns when airport immigration agents informed us that my wife would only be allowed to board the flight if she had a return ticket. Were they serious? Or was this all a joke? This was not in our plan but since God had worked out every other obstacle and allowed our wedding to go through, we allowed Him to work this out. Hours later, we were in a hotel in Barbados looking back on all the “could haves” but realized that God was present in our lives and that if we continued to trust in Him, He would work it all out.

We didn’t know then, but these were previews of our marriage life, hurdling obstacle after obstacle. For our first anniversary, we were in a roofless house, sweeping out water whenever it rained, returning home to wet beds and holding umbrellas over our stove while we fried bakes and plantains so rain wouldn’t cause the oil to splash and burn us. For our second, we were huddled in our basement apartment – while our roof was being fixed – tripping over our things and each another, without electricity or internet. But tomorrow, as we celebrate our third anniversary, we will do so like the Phoenix, having risen from the ashes of Hurricane Maria, with God restoring us tenfold. We will also celebrate with a very special addition to our family: our miracle baby boy. We have grown from three happy people to four. God is great!

I’ve always found it so to be such a blessing that despite all the difficulties, we are still together, and more importantly, we are still in love and still very happy. Our God-ordained marriage is beautiful and exciting. It is not perfect but it is filled with love, loyalty, trust, oneness, commitment, acceptance, respect and laughter… a whole lot of laughter. And boy do I love to hear Shoy’s flavor-filled laughs.

To my selfless, passionate, confident, intelligent, creative, inspirational,  gorgeous and scrumptious wife: You are my joy and our family’s happiness. May our faith in difficult times, be strengthened by our memories of how God came through for us at the beginning of our lives together.

Happy anniversary, my love. May we continue to grow in love and propel each other to be better. May we continue to use faith and love to surmount each obstacle, one after the other, like true champs. I love you! I am in love with you! And I am looking forward to a journey of winning with you!

Ashley Massicotte ©