The lines under her eyes tell a story…….
They speak of Weariness.
Loss. 
Strength.
A great War, Waged and Won.
The strength of his stance speaks of great Courage, 
The shine in his eyes a testament of Hope.
A man who has faced his demons head on,
A man who has Victory.
These Pictures weave a story of a Love,
Shattered & Lost, 
Found & Reclaimed,
Reborn & Renewed. 
These pictures may not shout of the tragedy, tears, broken hearts, or broken dreams……
Instead, they whisper…..
that in the rubble of a broken marriage,
In the mess and sorrow of it all,
Hope was born.
Just a glimmer at first.
Too fragile to even move towards touching it, lest it be snuffed out……
But it grew.
It grew stronger and brighter until it was grasped with two hands,
Two hearts crying out for healing.
Crying out for Wholeness.
Reaching for a Love, Deeper than ever before.
Brokeness made into Strength.
Tears turned into Courage.
Hope springing into Laughter
and Love,
The kind that goes down deep with its roots. 
For it has weathered a ferocious storm,
And strong it stands, 
On Promises anew.
2 circles unbroken.
Promises of forever.
Whispers under the covers,
Water fights in the kitchen,
A hug at the end of a long day.
Freedom.
Fidelity.
And Hope.
Always Hope.
Even in the midst of utter Despair.
In the angry moments of WHY?
In the sad moments of quiet acceptance of a “Truth” I don’t want,
In the heart swelling moments of a Love
So deep…..
So great, that it brings tears to your eyes.
In the moments I forget to Forgive,
In the moments I don’t.
Hope is there, 
Underneath it all.
Hope in Jesus.
In a new Creation….
In Brokeness made Whole.
For behold, He makes all things NEW.
Happy 11th Anniversary {tomorrow} to the LOVE of my life……
I know we are weary.
I know the road to total healing is a long one.
I know we are still working out the kinks of this new life of ours.
But, never, ever forget, that…..
I. Choose. Us. 
Now,
Always,
I give you all of me….
From now until forever.
Because Love Wins.
Do you hear that?
Love. Wins.
~T
Story starts here: https://4littlefergusons.wordpress.com/surviving-infidelity/
Photos by the talented Melissa. Check out her blog, Voice, for more of her amazing work!!!!
This brought tears to my eyes. I have followed you for awhile and I love this post!
Happy Anniversary!
What a special post! Happy anniversary to you both! So glad that you are able to celebrate more years together!!!
Thank you for the encouragement to press on and fight the fight! To WIN the fight too! Thank you for showing me that it is worth it to fight for what is mine!!:)(We are doing MUCH better by the way!) Thank you! I am so glad that I stumbled upon your blog when I did. It was obviously GOD directing my path to where I needed to go at that time.:) He is AMAZING how he works. You wonder why you are going in that way and then you look back later and realize that it was all in his plan for your life.:)
Love and hugs to you,
Kristina
I’m in the midst of my own infidelity problems (5.5 months past DDay) and your story inspires me. I’m not being as gracious as you and I’m struggling REALLY bad…but I hope that by reading your words I can “choose us” in my own heart.
Love it. Great pictures and a great LOVE story penned by Our Creator. Happy Anniversary to you tomorrow. Darkness ALWAYS loses to LIGHT!
There is always hope in Jesus! I praise God for gifts of forgiveness, grace, healing, and love over it all! The pictures and words truly touched my heart. Happy Anniversary–there is much to celebrate!! Blessings–Alison
“Amazing Love, how can it be…twas Christ Our Lord who died for me”…..for us all. I am so blessed to watch you both grow and heal and become brand new!! You 2 have what many want as their own story. Not everyone gets a new start, not all spouses have a broken and contrite heart …refusal to admit the wrong/the sin, to confess, work through and etc. But God is still God and He is still in control. I am over joyed that you are celebrating another year together. May it be more blessed and glorious than the year before. I love you dearly and thank God that I get to be part of your story!!
This. Is. Beautiful. Wow! The photos, the words, the story everything. Happy anniversary to you and your husband. May you both continue to heal and grow closer to one another each day. You are both an inspiration and blessing. I pray there are many more blessed years ahead of you. 🙂
Happy Anniversary..I wish you many many more years !
Totally beautiful, thank you for showing real love.
Wow. Absolutely beautiful words. I’m not sure at what point I started following you but somehow missed this part of your story and had to go back a bit to find it. You have an amazing heart and are brave in sharing something that I’m sure wasn’t easy to share. Marriage is worth the fight and I’m so glad the two of you are fighting for it. Happy anniversary and God bless you with this renewed life together!
Beautiful!! Thanks for being so vulnerable and sharing your lives! Our family is blessed because of you! Happy anniversary!!
Love this! As another one who weathered the storms, I stand in agreement and rejoice with you. Something better always rises from the broken pieces. Happy anniversary!!!
Oh Tonya – what a BEAUUUTIFUL post!! I’m SO happy for you both. What an amazing example you two are, and I know God is blessing you beyond measure because of the story you have chosen to share with the world. The photos are breathtaking! Hallelujah! I am celebrating with you and praying God blesses you with many many more happy years. (BTW – I choked up reading your sweet mama’s comment. Hi LaDonna=) You are an amazing woman…an awesome tool of God and I am so blessed to know you personally. My heart is fully blessed getting to share in this gorgeous post. XOXO
That was just amazing! From the words to the photos just amazing. You have shown that with faith, love and hard work you can achieve what you want. You are an inspiration to us all.
Beautiful!
Thank you so much for this post. I have had quite a struggle in my forgiveness journey lately. I so needed these words of inspiration and hope. May God continue to bless you and your family as you heal and grow stronger each day.
Speechless. Wow. Coffee table book material here that MUST be shared. I’ve followed you for awhile from a distance and your story always brings me to tears. This has done it again. Thank you.
As I read this today, I again sob and can’t stop the tears from falling. Love. Wins. It does, it really does!! The first time I read this update it was last week, I found myself sobbing on my bedroom floor so full of emotions from what has taken place in my own life over the past year and how your words express almost to the tee what I feel, what we’ve been through, and how we are still working on the kinks to our new life. Our anniversary of 20 years is coming up and so is the anniversary of the most miserable days of my life … those I wont be celebrating but I know that on those days, I will be reminded; hurt. I know God will be with us … and that is what is keeping me optimistic. Our marriage with a limp is getting stronger and our new life is becoming better than the old. I just want to thank you again. Thank you for Sharing your journey, on a subject that I know I’d prefer to hide. But your honesty… Brutal truth on what you have gone through is helping to heal others. There was a point in time I thought I’d never get over it or maybe didn’t even want to … reading your blog from start to finish gave me hope. Hope to save a marriage that is worth it. Hope that the hurt will go away. Hope that I will trust again. Hope that LOVE is worth it. Although I can’t always stop the pain, I have faith one day it will be gone. God is Love & Love Wins!!
This is beautiful!!! Made me cry! I feel both of your strength through this tribute… And I am inspired! You guys are marriage vows in action-congratulations! Tonya, you are my new hero! 🙂
Awww, thank you sweet friend! 🙂 It came from my heart and was my gift to Dale. I had it made into a coffee table book as suggested. Hugs, T
My heart breaks that you had to experience so much pain, but what an amazing story of restoration. I am not married, but have seen others in similar situations and I want you to know how much I respect you and your husband for allowing God to give you the strength to choose “your marriage”. In the depth of pain it can be easier to choose what we think is the easier and better road, but ultimately I believe that God allows those hard bumps not just for us, but for the lives we can touch though the things we learn. Many blessings as you take each day one at a time and infuse your marriage and family with God’s amazing grace.
Very happy hopeful tears
I want this.
I am sobbing…thank you for sharing your journey of healing.
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