24th Wedding Anniversary

To say I am grateful to be celebrating 24 years of marriage to Josh Dorminy would be such an understatement. I count Josh as the greatest gift God has ever given me, right after salvation. I have learned so much from Josh—mostly about how to be a godly person who lives with integrity. He is a humble, loving, caring, generous, patient, hard working, adventurous, and fun husband. I have heard him teach more Bible lessons than anyone else, and I usually hear them twice—once at home during/after prep and during class!

We have been newlyweds together, excited for life together and unsure of what the future held.

We had babies together, learning all along the way—we had no idea what we didn’t know!

We have moved to a new state together, facing challenges as we adjusted to our new home together.

We have faced parenting issues together, looking to each other to help keep our hopes up that better days were ahead.

And we have sent two kids to college and our last one will fly away in the fall….and we will face our empty nest together. What a blessing to live so much life with your favorite person.

Marriage has been so life-giving. I love that we both are each other’s favorite person. I pray for sixty more years with him by my side.

On our 20th anniversary trip, we chose one word to describe each year of our marriage. I’ll type it out here with our updated word from this past year.

2001-FUN. Newlyweds, new apartment in Florida, moved back to Georgia, just a good time all around.

2002-CHANGE. Moved apartments, found a new church, met new friends, learned new city.

2003-UNKNOWNS. Josh quit his first job, signed contract on new house, Josh got very sick, found out we were pregnant with Ruby, Josh started new job.

2004-ANTICIPATION. Waiting on Ruby’s arrival, Josh growing into new job.

2005-SURPRISE. Molly was born (only 14 months after we welcome Ruby to the world)…we forget the rest.

2006-GROWTH. Pregnant with Mack, led a growing Sunday School class of young families, Josh continued to grow into his job in the commercial real estate field.

2007-HARD. Three babies ( 2 year old, 1 year old, newborn)

2008-DRAINED. I hit an emotional wall at the end of this year, turned to God in all of my emptiness with nothing to offer but my tired, weary self. And He was faithful to meet me and fill me.

2009-EMPTY. We built and moved into our “dream home” that sucked the life and money right out of us.

2010-FAITH BUILDING. As we let go of our dreams and plans and trusted God for His plans and purposes for our lives….

2011-GRIEF. Deb—Josh’s mom—went to heaven, leaving a hole in all of our hearts. Also, HUMILITY…we moved back into our old house after selling the dream home.

2012-FREEDOM. From debt. From trying to be anything or anyone other than who God wanted us to be. From trying to carry out our own dreams apart from God. Freedom for Josh to take on another job in ministry, in addition to his commercial real estate work.

2013-THANKFUL. Loads of friends at church, homeschooling a 10, 9, 8 year old (sweet ages!), went to Haiti as a family. Life seemed manageable and not as stressful as in recent years.

2014-STRETCHED. Josh’s two jobs stretched him in many ways. The ministry was booming. He was still teaching and leading a large group at church, his real estate job was going very well, but this year also provided a very stressful financial situation to walk through, not of our own doing.

2015-RESTLESS. This was a busy, full year with many wonderful things going on in our lives. YET, we were both restless and couldn’t put our finger on what needed to change or what we were doing wrong. I had a vision of Jesus picking me up and walking away with me. I had no idea what exactly that meant, but I shared it with Josh, wrote it in my journal and moved on…but God would develop this whole idea in my heart over the years to come.

2016-BIG MOVE. Through a series of God-ordained events, God made it clear that He was calling us to a new adventure. He just didn’t make it clear how hard it would be. We went to Africa in June with the ministry Josh served with and by July we were selling our house, buying a new home in Charlotte, NC for the job Josh would start September 1.

2017-OVERWHELMED. Everything was new. Work was difficult. Loneliness threatened to take me under. I started counseling to have someone to process this with. Could not find our place in a church.

2018-PHYSICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH. Josh was managing his new role much better at this point. I began taking care of my physical and mental health and went from barely surviving to thriving during this year.

2019-GRIEF AND TRAUMA. My mom died by suicide. Horrible in every way. LETTING GO. The kids started attending a private Christian school, which was needed for them and for me in this season. God’s timing and provision could not be denied.

2020-WEIRD. Covid-19 entered the USA and turned everything upside down in ways only a global pandemic can. More disappointments than can be named…and yet, God increased intimacy with Him and strengthened our marriage and our family through the unknowns of a very strange year.

2021-SEARCHING…for university for Ruby, for answers to Mack’s health issue and a new school for him, for the truth about Covid and vaccines as Josh got very sick with it, for sanity because the world seemed to have gone mad!

2022-CHANGE and INDEPENDENCE. Ruby graduated and left home for college, Mack started a new school by himself and Molly started her senior year without siblings!

2023-SPIRITUAL WARFARE. We walked through personal parenting challenges as we helped teens navigate a big, scary world, Josh serving on our Pastor Search Team for most of the year and we felt like we were in a battle for the future of our church…words aren’t enough to convey the heaviness of this year.

2024-IMPROVEMENTS. We saw major improvements in our parenting challenges mentioned in last years word. Life improved because Josh wasn’t on the Pastor Search Team anymore. We made home improvements—to our living room, to Josh’s little office, to another bedroom in the house, to our dining area. Improvements to come as a result of the 2024 election, we hope! Just generally moving in a good direction and leaving some things behind that were heavy.

2025- This year of marriage begins today and will hold so many unknowns and unexpected things. Joys and sorrows. Challenges and Pleasures…..only the Lord knows what word might describe this year of marriage. I pray we face it all together.

Beyond grateful for the life the Lord has given us, the marriage we enjoy, and the children He has blessed us with. It just gets better and better. I love you, Joshua Lee Dorminy.