Hey Everyone!

I hope you all are having an amazing start to your week.

I want to take a moment and say thank you to everyone for the love and support that has been shown towards Wade and I. From supporting us in our private wedding/marriage and now, as of last weekend, supporting us as we are on the journey to become parents! Wade and I are expecting a little one in Sept 2108 and we couldn't be more excited.

I know from the outside it may seem my husband and I are doing things totally backwards. We kept our marriage secret for a year, pushed back our wedding (it was originally supposed to be June 2018 but now we pushed it back to Jan 2019) and now we are having a baby. It is unconventional, and may seem weird to the outside eye, but Wade and I only see God in it all. You see, without getting into detail, my husband and I were on a faith journey of trusting God for children. We were unsure if it would naturally happen... but we kept praying and believing for healing and as of January this year, prayers were answered and our hearts were filled with joy- I found out I was pregnant-- naturally. So I will most certainly push back a wedding for our miracle baby. :)

I look back on the 12 years Wade and I have been together and I can't help but thank Jesus. You see, Wade and I -- although we have been together a long time, we have had our more than fair share of battles, break ups and hard to forgive moments. We were at odds for each other for a long time- mostly because of immaturity and being very different. There were moments, even in the last couple years, I thought Wade and I wouldn't make it. But God has really done a miracle for us- He has transformed our hearts for one another and in turn it has transformed our relationship. May sound blunt, but it is by the grace of God we are still together, best friends and fully in love.

I am thankful I have someone so different from me. It makes life fun. Even at times it's a little harder than if we were to think the same. Looking back at the first year of marriage, we had our "I am not vibing with you" moments- to say the least! The best way I can describe why the early years of marriage can be difficult is because you are two separate souls, with two separate wills and desires-- merging into one... that takes time, communication, effort and a whole lot of grace! I saw for us personally how we had our own ideals, and we would play "tug of war" with each other to try to get the other person to go our way. Being raised very differently, we also could get stuck in what we knew instead of forging our own path. Maybe some people find marriage all around blissful-- that was not us. LOL BUT through fighting the good fight in the last year and even the last 12, we have made leaps and bounds. Officially into our second year of marriage, we are closer than ever.. and I truly think it's because we had to go through that tough season together. Marriage is truly sanctifying me.

I don't see many people willing to share hard realities of marriage- and that surprised me at first. I guess maybe it's because people fear judgement or want to keep their relationship really private. Either way, I thought for awhile I was the only one going through battles in my marriage... it was when I would be open to certain people about struggles I am facing that I realized every marriage has it's struggles.

Through my own experience, I have grown so passionate about helping people stay encouraged in hard season. Marriage is Sanctifying.. and I want to help people remember that even though marriage can be difficult, its a commitment worth staying committed to. I want to have the hard talks with people if that means they gain perspective and strength to keep going! The truth is, no one is alone in the marriage journey. We all are going through tough stuff- whether it be with our spouse or because of external factors... but its making us better. It's making us holy. It's teaching us to die to ourselves and serve our partner.

So I started an instagram account solely to encourage you and share testimonies of those just like us! Going through this journey of marriage. It is called @marriageissanctifying. I am not sure what God will do with it yet, but it was birthed through a desire in my heart. Come and let's be friends if it relates to you!

I am also thinking of making some cute mom shirts to wear... let me know if you would wear them, too-- so I can make you some :)

Godspeed,

Aisha Branch