sigh no more

I haven't written in a while because I knew this one would be heavy. 

Three years and three months ago from tomorrow, I came home for summer break and Zach and I became "official."

Three weeks after that he told me God had called him into the Air Force.

Three days passed then I told him I loved him, fifteen seconds later he told me he could have said that to me from day one. 

One month later I went back to school in San Marcos and Zach stayed in Rockwall 

(that's when our long distant journey began)

About three and half months later Zach trained to San Marcos so he could drive me home for Christmas break. He started boot camp on January 4, 2011.

From the moment he got off the train until the moment I dropped him off for service,

we had twenty one days. 

Twenty one days (consecutively) is the longest hang out streak we've had.

For that next three months our only way of communicating was through letters and one, seven minute, Sunday night phone call per week. 

After boot camp (which was in San Antonio) he was being trained for a month and a half. We saw each other on the weekends. 

Then we found out he was being stationed in Washington D.C.

He had to report to Andrews Air Force Base on May 29, two days after our one year anniversary. 

We spent that first anniversary together, in Rockwall. It was incredible.

From that moment on our schedule was at a pretty consistent rate of seeing each other once every two and a half months.

The day after Christmas of 2011 both of our families went to Washington D.C.

Zach proposed. (Best day ever)

After that our routine of seeing each other every two(ish) months continued.

Then in the beginning of November of 2012, Zach got told, that starting on December 6 he wasn't going to be able to take leave for six months. 

I spent the week of Thanksgiving in D.C., just me and Z. Then he came back with me and spent time with the family before he had to report on the sixth. I said bye to him on December 4th.

Because of softball, there was no possible way I could get to Zach.

Then (after begging his commander and working extra) he surprised me on April 27th for senior weekend.

Tears.

I spent two sweet days with him.

Once he got off of his specialty job in June, they told him he wasn't going to be able to take leave until the week of the wedding.

That's where we are now.

Tomorrow I will pick Zach up from the airport and hug him without feeling the pain of him eventually leaving again. I will kiss him and it be genuinely filled with joy, with no sting of his eventual departure in our near future. I will not have to hold his hand so tight, scared that someone will try to pull him away from me, thinking that we only have a little time together. Seeing Zach tomorrow will be seeing God's promise coming true. Through all of the worst times in the past three years, we held onto the truth that we do not run in vain. We have known for a long time that we were made to be married. Through different times of yelling and tears, a lot of tears, we both knew that God did not bring us this far to leave us now. We our living proof of God's word saying "..suffering produces endurance." Both of us have felt that our hearts couldn't take it any more and there was no way we could keep going being separate, but every time we would hit a low God would come in and just whisper..endure. 

Tomorrow, in that airport, God will be with us and embracing us as we are embracing each other. The Father hurts when we hurt and He rejoices when we rejoice! 

When Z and I get married on Sunday, we will have spent a total of seven days together in 2013 but we will also break our 21 day hang out streak in 2013. 

joy comes in the morning

-Hay