A Toast to J&H

Last weekend, my little brother got married! I had the privilege of being the maid of honor, so I gave a toast to the newly married couple! When they first got engaged I spent a lot of time thinking about what I would say, but as the months ticked by I thought about it less. So the nightbefore the wedding, I sat down at the keyboard and smashed out the following speech.

I cried every single time I rehearsed it. And I definitely started to choke up as I presented it in front of all of their friends and family. But, it wouldn't have been authentic if I wasn't tearing up, right?

Anyway, here's a glimpse into the wedding from last weekend!

For those of you who don’t know me, I'm Anna , Josef’s older sister—and now Hope’s big sister, too!

I am so glad to be here and to be a part of this wedding because I have the unique position of being the groom’s sister, and now the bride’s friend.

When I was a little girl, I always wished for a baby sister. I thought it would be so cool to share clothes, and makeup, and advice, and hair ties, and everything girlie and silly. And when Mom and Dad came home with Josef, I promptly asked if they could return him for a her. Which of course, they could not.

As an adult people like to ask me if I’m close to Josef. And I’m always happy to say that he’s my Bud Nub, one of my best friends. But we really weren’t close until I went to college.

I went off to Concordia in Seward, NE, and drove the hour and twenty minutes back and forth between home and school often so I could make it to Josef’s big high school events.

And it’s funny, because when I graduated from Concordia at the tender age of 21, I would have never guessed that my brother would also make that trip between Grand Island and Seward often because of another girl that went to Concordia after I graduated.

I remember when Josef shared how he met Hope, through a mutual friend, who introduced them by saying, “Josef this is Hope. Hope this is Josef. You’re going to fall in love and get married and have lots of babies.” I remember him telling me how mortified he was, and how he got Hope’s phone number. And then how they were texting. A lot. And then Facetiming. A lot. And I remember asking him, “What does Hope’s roommate think of you Facetiming so late?” And he shrugged and said she didn’t care. I’m not sure if that’s true or not, but Emily is here, so I guess it didn’t put too much of a strain on their friendship.

They have spent most of their dating relationship long distance. Josef was in Colorado the first year, and Hope was in Nebraska. And in the summer, Hope was in California. A lot of their peers probably would have said that a long distance relationship like that wouldn’t work. And I know it wasn’t easy. But I know that my brother absolutely loved this girl, and he was not going let a few miles determine the fate of their relationship. Even when he bought the engagement ring the same day she found out about the Disney College Program in Florida.

Over the last few years, I’ve gotten to really know Hope. I know that she will eat a fruit salad with apples in it, just so she won’t offend you with her allergy. I know that she is just as nerdy as we are. I know that she will absolutely beat me every time at Disney trivia. And some of my fondest memories are late nights in the car talking in the driveway. Those conversations where I really got to see her heart, and I let her see mine.

I could very easily go on talking about the big and small moments in their relationship that I got to witness first hand. But I’ll leave you with this:

Josef, my best Bud, I am so proud of the man you’ve become. I know that you will love your wife well, because your love for Christ is at the center of all you do.

Hope, my sister, words cannot express how thankful I am that God brought you into our family. I’m glad we can share the girlie and silly stuff as well as the serious and life stuff. You are exactly the sister I always wanted.

So. I toast to the groom. I toast to the bride. From your sister, who is always by your side.