Take it from them...

Happy Saturday!

I recently decided to begin featuring some happily married black women on this blog. I have two reasons: 1) To show that yes, black women do find love and get married {surprise, surprise}; and 2) To have these women share a little of their experiences and advice.

First up is JeLisa S.:

Wedding anniversary date: September 14, 2008

How did you know Galen [the hubby] was the One?
The realization that Galen was the one hit me harder than anything in my entire life. Not in a bad way...just in a big one. Everything I thought I knew-- about myself, my plans, even love-- was forever changed in an instant. I sat in my dorm room talking to my friend, Galen, about our friendship and realized I was talking to my husband.

I don't know how I knew. Call it divine intervention, my heart being smarter than me. Maybe I'm psychic. Well, I can't be psychic since I thought from childhood I'd never, ever, ever get married or have kids. {I thought I didn't even like them}.

And now, I'm a very happily married preschool teacher who's planning her nursery. Turns out, the only thing I'd been right about was that Galen was "the marrying type"--I'd always told him that and that he'd one day make a really sweet husband to some lucky girl. How crazy it was when I realized that girl was me.

What's one thing marriage has taught you?
It has been the deepest, most revealing mirror ever held to my face. It has shown me who I truly am {the good and bad, the ugliness and the beauty}, what my habits are, what my needs are, what my strengths are, how I need to grow, what I need to change, what I need to cultivate.

Any advice for the engaged and newlyweds?
If you're engaged, I'd advise you not to get so caught up in planning your wedding that you forget to plan and prepare for your marriage.

If you're a newlywed and have just gotten married, I'd advise you to enjoy it! And you can't enjoy it by sweating the small stuff. Yes, he leaves his shoes by the doorway when he gets home-- but you can focus on how annoying that is or how awesome it is that he's home. The first year passes you by before you know it, and you two are only newlyweds once!

Get more of JeLisa and her marriage on her blog, ...And They Lived Blogging Ever After.

Are you a happily married black woman and want to be featured? Contact me: jamienfleming@gmail.com.