Twelve years ago, today I walked down the aisle. And by the aisle I mean the 105-degree quonset in Newport, Nebraska.
The barn swallows swooped at my head and an old heeler dog named Ruby led the way toward the cowboy of my dreams, who looked on with tear-filled eyes.
I wore a dress I purchased for $10 at Goodwill, and a turquoise and pearl necklace for something blue. I bought that on 5th Avenue when I was in New York City. If that doesn’t about sum me up, I’m not sure what does.
Tree stumps held flower arrangements from my grandma’s garden and we ate donuts instead of cake. Since then, life’s been pretty sweet. Sure, you always have difficult times, frustrations and exhaustion. But you also have babies, road trips, laughs and love.
The whole marriage gig is pretty hard to beat if you ask me.
Marriage eliminates your ability to be selfish and teaches you the meaning of true service. You learn how to handle your person at their worst, but also how to best help them evoke their best selves. You challenge one another to be more, be better and to think differently.
My husband taught me more than I could articulate here, but I will say the guy doesn’t know what a “two-man job” is. He can lift anything, move anything, do anything all on his own.
Yet he has a quiet humility and gentleness about him. His hands are the size of a bear’s and his heart is at least twice that. The ease with which he moves around a horse, the silence in which he completes the daily, mundane tasks; and the patience by which he raises two little girls are really something to be proud of.
In a generation of confusion where people are getting married much later in life or not at all, not having kids, and engaging in transgenderism I have a bit of advice for you that you never asked for. God had a specific design in mind when he created us.
And though it is scary to take the leap, you need to trust it. When we operate outside of God’s design, life gets more complicated and painful than it needs to be.
When I hear members of the “trans community” say God made them this way or told them to change their biology I don’t believe that can be true.
God is very specific about our original design and our purpose. Anything outside of that original design is Satan’s misguiding of confused souls who are longing for love and acceptance. The devil is a master manipulator and sometimes his tricks can feel like a warm hug.
I’ve heard many people in the trans community say that people like me are trying to make them “not exist.” That’s not true.
I want them to exist in their fullest God-given potential. I want them to fall in love, be happy and make the world a better place. What I won’t do is compromise my values and belief in God’s design.
Mental illness, suicidal ideation and past sexual or abusive trauma oftentimes plague these individuals. Demons can come for us all.
Mike Tyson once said, when you’re favored by God, you’re also favored by the devil. It’s about which you choose to dance with.
We talk too much about politics and not enough about prayer. To pray that we as a collective people can adhere to God’s plan and his original design keeps sin away. To put our minds into a holy state of grace through the power of prayer not only helps us, it helps our neighbors too.
Policy and lawmaking address only the fallout from sin: The safety issues, the restrictions needed, and legal terminology. If we want to get humanity on track there’s only one way to do that, and it is through a power much higher than the Freedom Caucus.
I understand this may be controversial. And I want you to understand, I don’t care.
“If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.” John 15:19-20
Cowboy State Daily columnist Cassie Craven is a University of Wyoming College of Law graduate who practices law in Wyoming. She can be reached at: longhornwritingllc@gmail.com
