Custer State Park, South Dakota

On Friday morning we woke up and headed towards Custer State Park in South Dakota. Apparently it is a huge area and you can go to many different parts of the park. The area we stopped off at had hiking trails and it had a beautiful lake/swimming area right in the middle. It happened to be the perfect sunny day, so we ate outside and then hiked a loop that was about 4 miles. After the hike as we headed back to the car we saw an outdoor wedding being set up and the guests were beginning to arrive. What a fun and beautiful place it was to have an outdoor wedding! It was a little too hot to wear suits, cowboy hats and long dresses but it looked like a lot of fun!

 

Custer State Park

Part of the hike through Custer State Park

There is something so joyful and special about a wedding! Watching two people who love each other and want to spend the rest of their lives together commit themselves to one another before God and so many friends and family… what a beautiful thing that our God created for us to enjoy! Thank you, Lord, for allowing us to experience a taste of your love through another human being. What a beautiful and unique mystery marriage is. Speaking of marriage… Ben and I are doing great. We are loving married life and learning so much along the way. Going from living in different states and not seeing each other very often, to seeing each other 24/7 has been quite the dramatic change, but we have loved every minute of it! But a note to those who are thinking of getting married: make sure you like the person you are going to marryJ You will be spending a lot of time with them and if you are not able to stand them now or are hoping things will change once you get married (or hoping they will change) I suggest you reconsider and really ask the Lord if this person is who you are to spend the REST of your life with. Marriage is a lifelong commitment, contrary to what our culture seems to suggest about it. Seeking the Lord for my husband and believing completely that Ben was God’s choice for me was definitely one of the best decision I have ever made and I am so thankful for God’s love and faithfulness to our needs and desires.

Well, there was a bit of my journaling passion coming out, hopefully you don’t mind, and if you do you can just skip those partsJ NOW back to our adventure!