While browsing around on the Internet, I stumbled upon something extraordinary. I have to share it. The articles that I came across are dated toward the end of last year so I'll share the data according to that time frame.
Wu Sognshi pictured to the left and Wu Conghan pictured to the right.
The couple you see in the above photograph are from China and have been married for 88 years as of last year. 88 years... 88 years of marriage...
Let that sink in for a moment...
That is crazy awesome!
At the ages of 13 and 15, the couple married in 1924. They are now [as of last year] 101 (Wu Conghan) and 103 (Wu Sognshi) years old. I feel like this story is extraordinary in so many ways. The obvious reason is the fact that they have been married for 88 years; they have both surpassed 100 years in age; and they had the opportunity to finally have a cherished "wedding" photo almost a decade after their wedding day.
The reason this couple came into the spotlight was for wedding pictures they were never able to take. Cameras were hard to come by in the early 1900s, especially in China. So, this couple was unable to ever have wedding photographs taken of them. Recently some photographers have volunteered to take "wedding" photos of those couples that never had the chance to get theirs on that special day. This precious couple was one of the lucky, and more than deserving, ones to get their picture taken. They both dressed for the occasion and smiled for the camera.
I more than commend those photographers for giving these couples a chance to have such a cherished photograph.
I first stumbled upon Kaitlyn in December of 2012, when looking for a no-sew fleece blanket tutorial. I wanted to make my boyfriend one for Christmas. I found the perfect tutorial on her Wifessionals. It makes a great gift and anyone can do one. It was my first no-sew blanket and I think it turned out pretty well. So, I was looking to do another one for my mom and ended up back on her page again. I spent a little more time on her page this time and found where she had written about her love story. So naturally, I messaged her and asked if she would let me share the story. Thankfully she was totally okay with it.
It is extremely touching and a wonderful example of not settling until you have found "your one." She experienced so much heartache and spent many nights, where she cried herself to sleep. However, she prayed and held onto hope. At one of the most unexpected times, she met the love of her life. They are now married and expecting their first bundle of joy.
The following story comes directly from Kaitlyn's page, with her permission:
"This is our story and excerpts from the letter I wrote Ryan on our wedding day.
I remember lying in my room when I was in high
school and writing in a journal to my future husband. I’d write all sorts of
notes and questions and things I’d wonder or ask this man when I eventually met
him. I would wonder where he was and what he was doing and if he was thinking
about me too. It has always been such a strong desire in my heart to find a
wonderful Christian man to marry – someone who would love me and cherish me and
appreciate me for the person I am. I always thought I would get married right
out of college, just like my parents, so when that plan didn’t work out, I
started to get discouraged. How was I going to meet someone after college?
As time kept passing I
started getting really frustrated with God. I had worked a year and a half in
Orlando when I got the job offer to move to Atlanta. At that time, I still was
battling Lyme disease, I had a broken heart, and I didn’t know a single person
in Atlanta. I remember standing in my shower, the day after Christmas in 2010,
and crying my eyes out. I was sobbing and asking God why I felt like my whole
life was NOTHING like what I thought it would be by that point. I promised
myself in that moment, a moment so filled with hurt and longing for a life I
desperately wanted, that I would remember it a year from then. I would look
back and see how much my life had changed.
I moved to Atlanta a few
weeks later. I laid in bed at night for the first two months, crying myself to
sleep and asking myself why the heck I moved in the first place. I missed my
family, I felt completely alone, and I was still single.I would say, “Well, you did this to
yourself…you put in for this job and now look at you. You’re miserable and sad
and you have no one to blame but you.” That was such a precious time in my
life. The only person that was with me in those moments was God. I would pray
and pray and pray that He would help me understand why I was supposed to have
moved. As the year wore on, I fell in love with Atlanta. I made friends and
established a life and I grew so much as a person. By the Fall, I
looked back at the year and realized that moving was one of the best decisions
I had ever made – it was one of the hardest, but I was so proud of myself for
doing it and God had blessed me by giving me a new life in Atlanta, which I had
grown to love.
Then in September my manager called me one
afternoon and told me I needed to be open to moving again. Despite it being
completely unprofessional, I burst out crying and told him I just couldn’t see
moving again. I had just moved 9 months prior and I liked my life. He tried to
talk me into it for 2 hours, but I stayed resistant. A week or so after, he
approached me again. I had been praying a lot and I knew at
that moment that I had to move. Worst case scenario, if I absolutely hated it,
I could move back in a year. I asked for the list of states that I could choose
from…and eventually Tennessee popped up. I prayed and prayed, but finally
decided that Nashville would be my best option.
My parents have always wanted
to retire there and it was only 3 hours from Atlanta. Maybe God was having me
move so that my future life would finally start to fall into place. I still
found myself single, and by this point I was so sick of dating people and it
never going anywhere. I began praying that God would not bring anyone into my
life unless it was “the one”. I would rather be alone, than continuously waste
my time in pointless relationships and I was tired of having my heart broken. I
took a leap of faith and I started the process of moving again. Honestly, once I decided
to move, doing it the second time was much easier than the first. By December I
was excited to get a new life again – to have new adventures.
The weekend of my 25th
birthday, I decided to go to Nashville to find a place to live. I figured since
work was paying for it, that I could just turn it into a fun trip, bringing
some girlfriends and also celebrating my birthday while we were there. I drove
up on Thursday with J, my girlfriend from work, and we went to dinner and then out to Broadway. It
was a horrible experience. (I didn’t know at the time that I was not in the
best atmosphere for people my age) By midnight, I was back in the hotel room,
crying and telling J I was moving to hell.
I rang in my 25th
birthday in true “quarter life crisis” mode. I fell asleep saying over and over
that I just wanted to find someone and settle down – I did not want to be 25
and single! My other friends showed up the next day, but we ended up just staying
in the hotel that night because I didn’t even feel like going out after the
night before. Saturday we decided to go explore Nashville and grab some lunch.
Afterwards, we headed back to the hotel and the girls convinced me to go to
dinner and go out…after all, it was our last night there. Reluctantly, I walked
downstairs with them to the Embassy Suites’ free happy hour.
As I waited in
line for wine, I saw a guy, our age, standing behind us and texting on his
phone. We grabbed our drinks and sat down at a table. We noticed the guy from
in line was sitting a few tables away, alone, so we decided to ask him to join
us. His name was M and he explained to us that he had a bunch of friends
coming down from Clarksville for the night. He was in the Army and so were all
his friends. Well, I pretty much wrote him off after that. I figured he could
be some fun entertainment for the night, but I was not interested in getting
involved with anyone in the military – no thank you. His friends started
showing up and we talked to them all for awhile, but eventually we went
upstairs to change and go to dinner. We told the guys we would meet up with
them later.
After dinner, we found out
that the boys were at Tavern, so we walked the few blocks to meet them. I
wasn’t really impressed with them, but again tried to be a good sport and told
M I just wanted to see as many bars as possible so I knew of some good
places to go once I moved. We started hopping from bar to bar. At the third
bar, they had a photobooth, so I grabbed E, my roomie, and ran to take pictures. The
night was turning out to be more fun than I had expected, and I was glad we had
gone out after all. After the pictures, we ventured back to the group, just as
everyone was deciding to head to the next bar. I looked over towards M and
realized there was a boy with him that I hadn’t seen before. I sarcastically
called out to M as we walked out, “Bring your friend Dimples.”
Once we got
out of the bar and started walking, “Dimples” and I fell away from the group and
just started talking. He told me he was from New Jersey, to which I said
“You’re the whitest person from NJ I’ve ever seen!” (My prior education on the
subject was from the TV show Jersey Shore) I found out he grew up in a
Christian home and he also told me he was planning to get out of the Army that
spring (he didn't end up doing that, obvi). I remember sitting in a booth at a bar, getting kind of excited that I
was somehow paired off with this guy. He could have ended up with any of my
friends, but I was the lucky girl who got to be with the only good looking boy
from the group. He also seemed to have a lot of qualities that I found
extremely attractive.
We all went back to the hotel to eat and hang out. He
volunteered to put on some music and went to plug in his iPod…and out came
Skrillex. That was the icing on the cake. Not many people like dubstep…namely,
my sister and I were basically the only two people I knew who appreciated it.
This sounds like such a silly thing to care about, but my biggest complaint
with guys was that I could never find a good Christian man who loved God, but
who also loved the same everyday things that I did. I felt like I was going to
have to just settle for one or the other: A strong Christian who was boring or
someone who loved doing everything I did and was cool, but not the strongest
Christian.
I looked at him and said, “You know who Skrillex is?!?!” His face
looked as shocked as mine. We hung out until about 4 or 5 in the morning and
then all of us girls headed to bed. Before he left he looked at me, took my face
in his hands and said “I’ll see you again.” He kissed my forehead and left.
The
next month we talked constantly through text messages and then on the phone. He
made plans to come to Atlanta to meet me for New Years Eve. The day after
Christmas 2011, I was at my house, and I remembered that painful moment in the
shower one year prior. I stood there, thanking God that he reminded me of it
and smiled because I had come so far in the past year. I was excited to go back
to Atlanta and to see this boy again. I was hopeful that maybe we would even
start dating once I moved to Nashville. Did I think this was my future husband?
No, not necessarily. But I did remember my prayers to God that He wouldn’t
place anyone in my life until it was “the one”.
The boy did meet up with me for
New Years, and a few days later, he helped me move all my stuff up to
Nashville. In March he proposed and we were married in June.
God's plan was not my own - it was so, so much better (:
"Where you are right now is God's place
for you. Live and obey and love and believe right there. God, not your
marital status, defines your life." -1 Corinthians 7:17"
I feel like her story says everything perfectly,
especially the last quote of 1 Corinthians 7:17.
Definitely check out her blog. She has a ton of great info
ranging from recipes to preparing for a baby (which she is just starting).
I have been following a story on Facebook for a while now. It is a sad story, but I feel like this story is a prime example of a husband's great love for his wife and son. I do not personally know the Browns. The story that I am posting comes directly from "Bringing Home the Browns" Facebook. I just want to share this story in hopes that others will see it and lift this family up. If I am not mistaken, this was written in September of 2012.
These photographs were taken from the Browns Facebook. I take no credit. It's just nice to put faces with names.
"Once upon a time there was a boy and a girl. The boy loved hunting and the girl loved shoes and they fell in love and got married. They bought a little house in a little Texas town, and the boy went to work everyday protecting that little town. He was a police officer, and he loved his job and that sleepy little town. The boy also love his country, and became a soldier in the National Guard. Life was good, and they were happy, but something was missing. They began to pray for a baby. Time went on, days turned to months, and months to years. 7 years to be exact. And then the news came. That boy and that girl were having a boy of their own.
This is the part of the story where you come in...
On September 15, 2012, at 34 weeks, while her husband Sean was serving our country in Afghanistan, Heather Brown went to the hospital with back pain and a headache. After arriving at the hospital, Heather began having seizures caused by a massive brain bleed. The baby, John Michael Thomas Brown, was taken by emergency C-section. Heather slipped into a coma. The baby was rushed to a neighboring hospital with a NICU.
It took 72 hours to bring our first Brown home from Afghanistan. The longest 3 days of his life. Flights that were hours on end with no communication. Not knowing how his wife and son were doing. Upon arrival at Tyler Pounds Field, Sean was given a police escort to the hospital, where his tiny newborn son was. That guy may be little, but he is strong like his daddy and the doctors and nurses say he is going to be okay, and soon, this little Brown will come home too.
After seeing his son, Sean went to his wife's side, where he has been constantly for the last month. Heather is still in a coma, and the doctor's tell us she may never come out. But we know our God is in the business of miracles. We believe through the power of prayer, Heather will wake up, and we believe this Brown is coming home, too.
This family needs all the prayer, encouragement and support they can get. That can't happen without people like you. Friends like you. Please follow this story. Share this story. Please put them on your church prayer list. Please join us in this journey as God creates an amazing testimony of "Bringing Home the Browns"."
Baby Brown, also known as Baby John, currently spends a lot of time with his Daddy. Heather is currently still in the hospital. They spend as much time as they can visiting Heather and hoping for better news each day. I am sure they cannot wait until the day they can all be home and healthy together. I pray they receive their miracle and Heather is able to see her bundle of joy and husband again. This is just a small piece of the Browns story.
I am extremely excited to announce that I have received my first story! I love this story because it is very non-traditional and powerful. You can feel the impact of the love written about. One of the most important loves, in my opinion, is the love you have for yourself. It is so important and essential. This is a wonderful story about a woman's journey to an unexpected love, a love of herself. She continues on a path of self discovery and self love. To the woman who shared this story, thank you so much.
The following story comes directly from the source:
"I am writing this in response to your request for love stories. I’m not sure if this is what you are looking for or not, as it is far from a traditional love story and it doesn’t have what some may consider to be the happy ending we are all subjected to in the fairy tales we grow up hearing.
*Names have been intentionally withheld.
I met the person that would become the love of my life at a business meeting. I walked into his office, we shook hands, and I knew in that instant that he would be important to me and I would know him, if possible, until I left this earth. Looking back, nearly a decade later, I am still surprised how accurate my gut instinct was that day. Even though I had no idea, at the time, just how important a role he would eventually play in my life. Including, but not restricted to, changing the way I view love, as well as myself and the world around me.
We hit it off the first time we met and in the following months talked quite a bit due to business and eventually, months later when business was concluded, we went on a date. Due to a misunderstanding, we ended up not talking for almost a year following that, even though I thought about him almost every day during that time, my stupid pride wouldn’t allow me to break down and get in touch with him. When, by circumstance, I was forced to swallow my pride and get in touch with him, it was as though nothing had ever happened. Even though we were unable to pick up where we had left off in the dating area, he quickly became one of my favorite people to talk to and unbeknownst to him, I had fallen devastatingly in love with him.
I use the word ‘devastating’ because he had acquired a girlfriend during my chosen hiatus from him and I chose to friend zone myself because of it. As a result, our friendship grew over the years and even though at times it has been hard for me to cope with the feelings I had for him, I am glad I did. In those first few years, nearly consumed with my blinding love for him, I set off on a course to change myself in the hopes of becoming someone he could love… silly I know, but I suspect that we all do it at some point. Pretend to be someone else to keep someone or in the hopes that someone in particular will love us back. That little side path lead to a bigger path of self discovery and I continue on that path today. Only now, the changes are for me, not someone that, I have discovered, I never had to change for at all.
Through the years, he has helped me through most of the lowest times of my life and in many ways I came to depend on him to be there, through text, phone calls, or in person, to ‘rescue’ me when I needed him the most. He has become one of the most prominent characters of my story while I have remained a mere footnote in his and I don’t foresee that ever changing in the future.
*I told you this isn’t a traditional love story.
The reason that, for me, ours is an extraordinary love is because it has been so many things through the years. He has become one of my most trusted confidantes and even though we may never be together, as a couple, there is an undeniable bond between us that neither of us has ever understood. As well as a mutual love, respect, and trust between us that continually surprises me… as I have horrible trust issues and tend to run people off when they get too close. I have watched this relationship grow and stuck with it, despite everyone’s warnings and years of hearing how stupid I am to put up with him and his flakiness. There are times I have hated him with the intensity of a thousand suns and other times that I have loved him beyond measure.
I guess it was three years or so ago, that I finally told him in person, that I loved him. Not because I needed to hear anything back from him but simply because the way I felt demanded to be expressed. There are times that I regret refusing to let him say anything in return, but as I have learned from this amazing roller coaster of a ride… everything happens for a reason and we all live with the decisions that we make. Roughly a year and a half later, I fell out of love with him.
This love has been extraordinary because it forced me to look at my life and myself and has set me on a path to be a better person than I was yesterday. I truly believe that a soul mate can be any person that fate throws at us. Someone that stays, even when our own fears may cause us to, repeatedly, try to push them away. Someone, whose very presence in our life gives us a reason to strive to be better. Someone who challenges us, pushes us, tells us the truth, and allows us the freedom to be ourselves and make whatever changes we feel we need to, in our pursuit of happiness. Someone that makes us laugh, renews our faith in people, encourages us to use the wings we have, gives us hope when we need it, and strength to fight another day.
I think the general misconception about ‘true love’ or a ‘soul mate’ is that most people assume that it only counts if it is in a relationship that involves dating or ends in marriage. I disagree. I think a soul mate can be anyone that rattles our cage enough to make us wake up and pay attention to the world around us, if only to be able to share it with them later. Or perhaps they can be important simply because we love them and that in itself makes their opinion matter. Sometimes all it takes is for someone to teach us to have faith in ourselves and for their opinion to be important enough to us that we allow it to override the negative voices in our own heads that, sometimes, make happiness seem impossible.
The love of my life, to this point, came to me in the form of a man whose spirit hit me like a tornado, forced open the windows of my mind, blew away some of the cobwebs and dust of my misguided thinking, and taught me not only how to let the sun shine in but also how to appreciate the rain. I have learned the importance of surrounding myself with people that lift me up.
That is a mere fragment of my love story, as it continues every day. This story has had many ups and downs, good days and bad days. This love story started out as my attempt to change myself to make someone else love me and, at some point, became a quest to love myself and be a better person than I was yesterday. Possibly one day I will be someone else’s ‘tornado’ and be able to inspire others the way my love has inspired me.
The song that reminds me of my love is Super Something by Yuna."
I am so thankful for everyone that has liked the Facebook page or viewed this blog thus far. It really does mean a lot to me. I am still waiting for my first story. Will it be you?? I encourage whoever reads this to send me your story. Please feel free to send pictures as well, or even a video.
If you do not have a story yet, then no biggie. You can still do something to help share the love. Some of us have parents or grandparents that are the perfect example of love. Talk to them and get them to share their story, so that I can help share it with the world. I cannot do this without you guys. I seriously cannot wait to start posting these stories for you all to read and share. I need your help though. Share the love so I can share the stories. Thanks a million!
Oh! If this is your first time visiting my page then check out the 'Welcome' post for a little more guidance and information :) Thanks a million!
Thanks for visiting my page. I have provided an introduction on the 'About Me' tab located towards the top of the page. There are also some other tabs that you can check out. At the bottom left of the page you can +1 this blog if you like it enough or like it on Facebook at the bottom right. You can also follow this blog by e-mail to stay up-to-date with the love. If you have read the 'About Me' section, then hopefully you have some idea of the purpose of this blog and want to join in or help me on this journey of love.
I feel like there is so much negativity in the world. Therefore, I have decided to spread some love and help make the world a happier place. I think love is extremely important and the foundation of happiness. I want to hear the love stories of successful couples. I want to learn about their love, their trials and triumphs. Then, I would like to share their love story with the rest of the world. My hope is that we will be able to learn from their story and people will want to work through their struggles and not give up at the first sign of trouble. I hope that marriage will be taken seriously and relationships not be viewed as disposable. My hope is a world filled with a lot more love.
Please e-mail me at ourextraordinarylove@gmail.com with your story or any questions. You can also leave any questions or comments on here or the Facebook. You are welcome to send videos and pictures also. I realize that there are many people out there that do not use the Internet a great deal. So, if you know someone that has great love but does not have access to the Internet then please contact me so we can figure something out. Thanks so much!
*Disclaimer: If you choose to send me your story, I will assume that I have permission to share it, as that is what this is all about.
The heart is a strong and vital organ, but
without the proper nourishment, it will fail.
