This morning I “stood on the balcony” with the British Royal Family.
I also danced in the ballroom of Buckingham Palace with my husband, the Buckeye.
He’s been pretty tired; he’s still very much in recovery from that brain bleed 9 months ago.
When we left EIGHTEEN DAYS ago(!!) we were tired, worn out and emotionally drained from the last year. The loss of his job the day he returned from our wedding, and his near death three months later with a long recovery had worn us out. Few marriages are tested this strenuously early on; we both left worried.
Finland assured us we had nothing to worry about. The spark is still very easily fanned into a flame!
We also reaped the rewards of our efforts to get in shape before our trip: while it may not have been my best, it was more than sufficient to have a very physically active honeymoon. We averaged over 5 miles and 11 flights of stairs everyday in Europe, with only one showing of the Air Monster (in Edinburgh, after climbing eight flights of outside stairs in a pretty urban/polluted environment.)
We had loved Finland, and eagerly anticipated Scotland. Little did we know how deeply it would touch us.
Our touchdown in Aberdeen was likely the toughest of any landings I’ve ever had-in a crosswind with a short runway.
Kinda like our first year of marriage: Bam! You’re here!
Unlike our first year, however, we had an unexpected upgrade from Europcar! Good lord this vehicle was SWWWWWWEEEEEET.
I had prearranged dinner at our BnB; we sank into a cozy Scottish kitchen and enjoyed lasagne and cobbler with a bottle of white wine. The Buckeye was struggling a bit: his stamina was starting to give earlier each day. I had known this was a possibility and planned accordingly-every day was flexible. We could add things if he felt up to it, but focused on only one main thing a day.
Shirley’s back garden. If you ever go to Scotland, stay with Shirley in Peterculter!
Our first destination? Dunnottar Castle. This ruin caught our fancy right after our engagement, and I even blogged about it.
What girl doesn’t want this wedding photo?!!!!?
I had discovered Dunnottar Castle when I researched Gregg’s Scottish roots. He’s actually a direct descendant of the earl marishal’s of Scotland, who BUILT THIS CASTLE. Like seriously, wickedly cool.
Or just Lovely😂😂😂
(The Buckeye says I say that too much now. With an accent.)
As we had seriously discussed eloping, I was quite surprised when the Buckeye brought up eloping to Scotland, and having it at Dunnottar. Neither of us knew the other was thinking Scotland, and never before had we talked about Dunnottar. We had both discovered it separately, when googling the clan castle of the Keith’s.
Because of course we are both clan Keith. Seriously.
Back in February 2018, we very seriously considered a Scottish elopement to Dunnottar; we found out we needed a marriage visa, and we got together the costs. I called my lifelong BFF to make sure she had a passport to be my witness; he decided he’d pull a witness from a local pub😂😂 (I love this man so much-he makes me laugh, and that’s wonderful!)
But my house hadn’t sold, and everyone told us we needed to sell my house first. Like everyone.
And my daughter the Commander commanded us to not elope.
And as I added the costs of Scotland and saw them equal a small wedding in Prescott, I let the dreams of Dunnottar slide. The Buckeye let my unsold house take center stage, and refused to set a wedding date until it sold.
And the Dark Days began.
We had only fought once the entire time we dated, from that point on, we struggled. The house became a noose with each day it remained unsold, and eventually we set a date without a sale. The offer came within 48 hours of us doing so, and it did sell a month later. But I was worn out from the battle...of every month working to make the money to pay the mortgage and bills, spending time on my knees trusting God I’d be ok. The days apart were hard, and the stress was huge. In my mind, I’d lose the Buckeye if it didn’t sell; the increasing anxiety that I’d lose him made the road much tougher. The sale, I thought, would alleviate it; instead the rougher storms came right on its heels.
What if we had eloped? It’s a what if I try not to think about...but climbing the cliffs around Dunnottar I couldn’t help but think of the fact we had both separately had thought to elope there.
This day was my favorite day of our honeymoon.
For as I climbed and was overwhelmed by the beauty of the Scottish coast, the magnificence of the ruin and the windswept romance of a wedding there I felt the tears run down my cheeks.
This had been Plan A, God’s Very Best.
He had wanted this for us-this magnificent, over-the-top, so us, so wildly wonderful spot for us to say our vows. Both of us knew it, and neither of us listened. Instead, we did the “wise” thing and waited for my house to sell.
The joy we experienced here-it was immeasurable.
The tears were a humbled mix of joy, repentance, awe and regret. My Father God had wanted me to have this magnificent gift, and I had said no. Grabbing the Buckeye’s hand, I shared my thoughts; he agreed. He knew. He admitted he knew then, too. At that moment he prayed, asking God to forgive our lack of faith, and thanking Him for His faithfulness to us.
In Scotland, our faith was renewed.
These are the coat of arms and motto’s of Gregg’s great (9 times) grandparents.
The Keith clan motto is Veritas Vincit.
So I had a little bonding moment with my great-nine times-grandmother-in-law.
Though adversity we will move forward.
That’s what we are doing...may we find more joy in our future.
There’s many more honeymoon tales to be told, but none more important than this:
We will seek first God’s will for us, and walk by faith.
For we have had the rather rare glimpse of what we gave up, and know the pain of the harder road. Truth conquers, and we will move forward through adversity.
And we will return.
How this place restored my very soul.
We have couple goals, entwined with personal goals...and Dunnottar represents them both. As we seek to do God’s will first, we are reminded that He always wants the best for us. When we do it our way, even if it seems wise, we forget His way is higher and better.
Even if it seems harder...that’s where faith comes in.
He bought a kilt for his next visit...😍
Our honeymoon reassured us we were a match, and that together we can do amazing things. Our delight in each other was only topped by the reminder that Not only will it be ok, but it can be amazing if we do what God has called us to do.
So we rewind. Remember the last thing we knew we were to do, that we haven’t. Each of us has a different personal path-but one that leads us parallel to the same destination. We found those paths again at Dunnottar. God is so good to show us as we wandered. May our resolve and direction stay true, and we find ourselves again there someday soon.
Hazard yit Forvard.
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