On April 25, 2021, my husband, Marcus, and I were married in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. As with any couple, our journey to our wedding day was unique and shaped by our life experiences. With similar upbringings, passions and dreams, we truly feel that our love story was shaped by the One who knew us before we were born.

Similar Starts

I’ve heard it said that “opposites attract,” but that couldn’t be less true for Marcus and me. Down to the smallest details, we are alike. We both were born into families that lived and breathed music. We grew up attending Salvation Army churches, music programs and camps. We value our relationships with family, friends and, most importantly, with God, and we’ve dedicated our lives to the mission of the  Army through soldiership. But one of the most unlikely similarities is the fact that we were both home-schooled.

For Marcus and me, home-schooling meant days spent learning about the Bible, music, math, English and history, all from the comfort of our own home. It meant that trips to home league luncheons, retirement homes and any other opportunity to share the gospel through music were common occurrences—often during the middle of the school day, designated as “field trips.” Our parents believed that a key part of our education was teaching us to love and serve the Lord through the gifts we had been given.

On some of our first dates, Marcus and I laughed at and bonded over some of our unique home-schooling stories. The similarities were uncanny as we shared about the nature of our upbringing and how it shaped us. These early conversations sparked something between us that was tangible and Spirit-led.

Music and Community

As I mentioned, another similarity is that Marcus and I were born and raised in The Salvation Army. If I could describe this upbringing in two words, I would say: “music” and “community.”

Some of my earliest memories are of sitting in a church pew listening to the band and songsters make beautiful music. Marcus will tell you that he used to play “composer,” finding scraps of paper to scribble imaginary melodies onto, inspired by the music he heard within his church family.

One of the most exciting days of my own young life was my first singing company rehearsal. Equally as exciting was Marcus’ first junior band practice. We both sang and played our little hearts out, dreaming of the day when we would finally be able to join the songsters and band.

Throughout these developmental years, we were loved and cared for by our church families. Older members in the corps music sections helped us excel musically and spiritually, speaking encouragement and love into our lives. Mentors prayed for us, checked in on us weekly and made sure we knew that we belonged within the community. The impact that our church communities had on us in these early years cannot be overstated.

As we grew older, we found ourselves continuing the traditions of encouragement and mentorship, especially through music groups. I led the singing company, Marcus led the young people’s band, we worked at summer day camps and were on faculty at music camps. We started seeing ourselves in a younger generation and wanted to share the same experience of community that had been given to us.

God gifted the Army with musical traditions. I believe that this is because music reaches straight to the hearts of those listening—sometimes better than words. Salvation Army musical groups are also an amazing tool for community, fellowship and spiritual growth. Music is the tool for the moving of the Holy Spirit in people’s hearts and lives. Music builds community.

Recognizing that Marcus and I had experienced the gifts of music and community through the Army was another thing that connected us right away, and still connects us to this day.

“I Do”

Our assumption was that our wedding day would be a celebration with our communities with plenty of friends and family, food and music. That assumption was constantly challenged by the pandemic.

Just one week before our wedding day, as the third wave tore across the province of Ontario, we listened to the announcement of the new restrictions in total silence.

When the announcement concluded, no tears came to our eyes. We sat together in those moments and talked about what our wedding was really about. The communities that we longed to celebrate with would still be able to watch online and wish us well from afar. The music that Marcus had written for me to walk down the aisle to could be recorded, and the rich meaning behind that music would still shine through. Most importantly, we would still be making the lifelong promises to each other that had been on our hearts since early in our relationship.

Our wedding day happened to be a very windy day. Marcus and I laugh about how messy our hair looks in our wedding pictures and how cold we were while saying “I do.” But I also feel that the powerful winds on that day had a deeper significance. Just like the wind cannot be seen but shapes and bends anything in its path, so God shaped and bent us to be united in his service.

This story is from: