God writes straight with crooked lines….St. Teresa of Avila
The quote above could be applied to the way Jennifer & Patrick came together. Patrick, married for almost 21 years, saw his marriage end with the death of his first wife. Jennifer, married for nearly 10 years, saw her marriage end due in no part to her own actions. We met in person for the first time at a Starbucks in Phoenix. Patrick made up some reason to come to Phoenix for work, so he could have coffee with Jennifer. That meeting began a chain of events that saw our eventual marriage at St. Bernard of Clairvaux. We have used the phrase “mending while blending” to describe bringing together two very different endings into one beautiful beginning. As Gary Allen sings, “Life ain’t always beautiful, but it’s a beautiful ride.”