Through the Storm

Prologue

Shannon got out of bed and put on her bootie slippers. She looked outside at the beautiful sunrise. The purples and pinks swirled together perfectly, and the sun was starting to poke through the horizon. How could people not believe that there was a Creator of the universe when this was right in front of them when they woke up? It was just ludicrous. Her mom and dad raised her to believe in God and to live life to the fullest. She could remember her mom saying, “Honey, if you have God in your life anything is possible.” And she was right. Most of her dreams were already coming true. Yes, God has definitely blessed her. She had amazing parents and amazing friends and definitely an amazing fiancée.

                She walked over to the mirror and looked at herself. She was getting married today. Yay! Ryan Greenwood was an AMAZING man. She couldn’t have asked for a better man. Ryan was everything she was looking for in a man. He was funny, sweet, kind, volunteered at several places, and most importantly shared her same faith. He was also a soldier. Shannon loved Ryan with all her heart. And he loved her.

                The day had gone by in a blur. She couldn’t remember half the stuff that she did. All she truly remembered was counting done the hours until she would be married to Ryan. She would be Mrs. Ryan Greenwood in about five minutes – well, the wedding would be in five minutes. She did a double take in the mirror. She loved her dress. It was one of those Fairy Tale wedding dresses. It was Belle’s dress. She’d been to so many bridal stores, but none of the dresses really got her attention. I guess you could say none of them spoke to her. She was about to give up and just pick one of the other dresses that she had seen, but then she spotted another bridal store. She didn’t see it before. She walked in, and the first thing she saw was Belle’s dress. She could see herself in this dress. This was the dress she had been looking for. She could picture the look on Ryan’s face when he saw her in it. And she smiled.

                “Honey, you look beautiful,” her father said. She almost had a heart attack when he spoke. She hadn’t heard him come in. “Ya, ready?” He asked with tears in his eyes.

                “Yeah.”

                “I can’t believe my little girl is growing up,” he said blinking back the tears. “Oh wait. You already have.” A tear escaped his eye.

                “Oh, Daddy, don’t cry; or you’re going to make me cry,” she said while trying to blink back her own tears. She hugged her dad and kissed him on the cheek.

                He looked down at her and said, “Ryan’s a lucky man. They couldn’t make ‘em any better than him,” he told her. She looked up at him and smiled. “Come on, we don’t want to be late for your big day. Do we?” He said while linking his arm in hers.

                  By the time they got to the foyer, she started to get nervous. Not that she was having doubts because she wasn’t. She just prayed to God that she wouldn’t fall or trip or something like that because that would totally suck.

                Finally the music began, and the doors opened. And before she knew it, it was just her and the flower girls left. The flower girls started to walk down the aisle. Her heart skipped a beat because she knew it was her turn next. Then the music for the wedding march began.

                She looked at Ryan and again her heart skipped a beat. He was wearing his military uniform. Not the camouflage one, but the suit. He was staring down at the ground at first, but then he looked up and smiled at her. And all of a sudden it felt like butterflies were in her stomach.