Rehearsal

Wedding Day

Ceremony

Faul Family Riverside Farm

Reception

Our Wedding

The cheerful girl with bouncy golden curls was almost five. Waitingwith her mother at the checkout stand, she saw them: a circle of glisteningwhite pearls in a pink foil box. “Oh please, Mommy. Can I have them?Please, Mommy, please?”Quickly the mother checked the back of the little foil box and then lookedback into the pleading blue eyes of her little girl’s upturned face.“A dollar ninety-five. That’s almost $2.00. If you really want them,I’ll think of some extra chores for you and in no time you can save enoughmoney to buy them for yourself. Your birthday’s only a week away and you mightget another crisp dollar bill from Grandma.”As soon as Jenny got home, she emptied her penny bank and countedout 17 pennies. After dinner, she did more than her share of chores and shewent to the neighbor and asked Mrs. McJames if she could pick dandelions forten cents. On her birthday, Grandma did give her another new dollar bill andat last she had enough money to buy the necklace.Jenny loved her pearls. They made her feel dressed up and grown up. She worethem everywhere – Sunday school, kindergarten, even to bed. The only time shetook them off was when she went swimming or had a bubble bath. Mother said ifthey got wet, they might turn her neck green.Jenny had a very loving daddy and every night when she was ready for bed,he would stop whatever he was doing and come upstairs to read her a story.One night when he finished the story, he asked Jenny, “Do you love me?”“Oh yes, Daddy. You know that I love you.”“Then give me your pearls.”“Oh, Daddy, not my pearls. But you can have Princess – the white horsefrom my collection. The one with the pink tail. Remember, Daddy? The oneyou gave me. She’s my favorite.”“That’s okay, Honey. Daddy loves you. Good night.” And he brushed her cheekwith a kiss.”About a week later, after the story time, Jenny’s daddy asked again,“Do you love me?”“Daddy, you know I love you.”“Then give me your pearls.”“Oh Daddy, not my pearls. But you can have my baby doll. The brand newone I got for my birthday. She is so beautiful and you can have the yellowblanket that matches her sleeper.”“That’s okay. Sleep well. God bless you, little one. Daddy loves you”And as always, he brushed her cheek with a gentle kiss.A few nights later when her daddy came in, Jenny was sitting on her bedwith her legs crossed Indian-style. As he came close, he noticed her chinwas trembling and one silent tear rolled down her cheek.“What is it, Jenny? What’s the matter?”Jenny didn’t say anything but lifted her little hand up to her daddy. And whenshe opened it, there was her little pearl necklace. With a little quiver, shefinally said, “Here, Daddy. It’s for you.” With tears gathering in his owneyes, Jenny’s kind daddy reached out with one hand to take the dime-storenecklace, and with the other hand he reached into his pocket and pulled out ablue velvet case with a strand of genuine pearls and gave them to Jenny. Hehad them all the time. He was just waiting for her to give up the dime-storestuff so he could give her the genuine treasure. Bliss is not the word I would use to describe Jonathan’s and my story.When we first started dating, he showed me, in the way that he pursued me, how much the Lord loves me and pursues me. He taught me what it is to be beloved by him and, more importantly, by Christ. He taught me how to slow down and take in the small moments. Many of my weaknesses he excelled in — a perfect partner.I knew very early on that I wanted to marry Jonathan. He quickly became my best friend, and I could picture a life with him and wanted that as quickly as possible. He, on the other hand, was not necessarily apprehensive about me... but the whole idea of marriage was not something he could see for his life.This quickly became all I could think about and see. It was all I wanted. This led to lots of nights where I would be weeping to Jonathan, questioning if he ever loved me at all. You could imagine the pressure and anxiety that would cause someone to face — especially someone who was sure about me but not sure if the natural pressure of marriage and being a husband was something he wanted for his life. He was standing stuck in fear, not able to move.I (if you didn’t know this about me) am very stubborn — something Jonathan often says is one of the biggest thorns in our relationship, but also our saving grace. For me, I took my eyes off Jesus, and pleasing Him and living for Him no longer became the goal — getting married to Jonathan did. Over time, one of the biggest gifts the Lord gave me became an idol. My fists clenched, and I was holding on with all I had.At the beginning of 2025, I felt the Lord telling me to let go. To open my hand. I was reminded of the story above — I didn’t know what was ahead, but I felt the comfort of the Lord that if I opened my hand, He would give me something better — even if it was not being with Jonathan or marriage at all.This led to Jonathan and me breaking things off for good — for real this time. I reached out to friends for accountability, asking them not to let me continue holding on to something that was going to kill me and lead to constant disappointment. Jonathan was never meant to hold the weight of my expectations.In this time of heartbreak, the Lord met me. I was comforted by His promises — that He will never leave or forsake me, that He had good things planned for my life if I was faithful to Him and chose Him, even when it meant giving up the one my heart longed to be with.In this time of sacrificing and letting go, God was working on Jonathan’s heart also — allowing him to become resolved that a life with me was what he really wanted. Not only that, but he realized it would make him better — that my strengths, too, made him better. He told me I encouraged him to love God more and to love people better.In early March, Jonathan asked me to meet up to talk. He wanted to ask me to be his wife. But this time, it wouldn’t just be me and him — it would be me, him, and Christ. He asked me to marry him again… this time not in front of a camera or a crowd, but in the presence of our Father, our first love.We ended that night on our knees before Him, pleading with Him to help us — admitting to Him and to each other that we want Him first, to please Him, and that if that meant not being together, we didn’t want it.You see, you may think that my “pearls” were a diamond on my finger and a husband. But my pearls are an intimate relationship with the best partner, friend, and lover I could ever ask for — the One who sent His Son to the cross to die a death I deserved. The One who makes me clean and saves me.Jonathan gave me a strand of real pearls on June 10th, my birthday, to remind me of this season. I pray these can be an Ebenezer for me to never forget what God did in this season.He is so good and has always been good. I’m so grateful He also gave me my (2nd) best friend to bear this life with. I can’t wait to be his wife.I’m not sure what life with Jonathan will bring, but I can promise you it will be beautiful — and if not, we will stand in our ONE HOPE: that He is coming back and will wipe every tear from our eyes.

Victoria + Jonathan

Victoria + Jonathan

V&J

Wedding Day

Reception