dreamin4freedom

Shawn & Gregory Davis
July 14, 1984

On July 14, 1984 I  married Gregory Davis, the love of  my life.  On Monday, July 14, 2014 we will celebrate our 30th anniversary.  I love him more today than ever.  I thank God for the gift he has been in my life.  The lyrics to a song by Teddy Pendergrass says “it’s so good loving somebody, when somebody loves you back, and that’s a fact.” It goes on to state, “not 70/30 not 60/40, talkin’ bout a 50/50 LOVE.”  Yeah, that’s what Gregory and I have! We have had a wonderful, loving, faith-centered marriage that produced two beautiful children, Kaila, 28 and Jerrell, 21.  Our marriage has been shaped by the “fruits of the spirit”: love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5: 22, 23).  These fruits of the spirit kept us treating each other right, treating our children right, and treating others right for thirty years. The love witnessed by our children has shaped them into loving and caring adults.  Our home was and still is a household of peace, and that is a major blessing.

In the movie Jerry McGuire, the leading man told the woman he loved, “you complete me”.   I must say it sounded romantic, but two people in love should be complete already.  Gregory and I were confident, strong, and complete by ourselves, but when we got together something special happened. We made each other even better .  We have supported each other in our aspirations and goals.  Gregory has been my biggest supporter in both happy and difficult times.  Over the years we suffered many losses in our immediate family, most notably my mother in 1987 and his father in 2002.  Gregory was a strong tower for me and our family during those times of great loss.  Gregory has been a husband who puts his family first without exceptions.  He is very committed to his faith, family, work, and community.  Even though he spends many hours volunteering his time in the community, when I need him, he is always there.  He was a rock last year when I suffered a stroke.   As soon as we were told the diagnosis, he took my phone, made all the important calls, and immediately began a care plan to take care of me and nurse me back to health.

Gregory has provided  our children a blueprint of a good husband and father.  I can proudly say that we were present in our children’s lives TOGETHER.  We parented together, and we spent a lot of time  loving them and making sure they received a good education.  They are now adults who are smart,  thoughtful, kind, and a blessing to their community.  Kaila has graduated from college and is married to a wonderful man, Ken Nsimbi.  I pray for them to have the happiness and longevity in marriage that we have had.   Jerrell recently graduated from college with a sociology degree (and a minor in business),  and we are so proud of him.  These two have been our joy  and brought us so many reasons to laugh, grow and celebrate through the years. One thing that was a turning point in our parent partnering, happened several years ago.  It was a Sunday evening, if I recall correctly, and I was washing and folding clothes.  Gregory asked Kaila and Jerrell to assist me with this chore, and it was never the same again.  I never felt burdened by laundry duty because everyone was doing it together on Sunday night! But it just took daddy telling them to help out with their clothes, and they did it from then on.  Thank you, Gregory, for the little things you did to make life easier at home.

Our faith in Jesus Christ was and is at the center of our marriage.  As committed Christians, on Sunday mornings we worshipped together as a family.   Gregory and I were baptized together in Medgar Evers pool on the campus of Garfield High School.  That spiritual act that we shared was the beginning of a life committed to growing in our Christian faith together and raising our children in the fear and admonition of God.  We have been abundantly blessed in return. I am looking forward to what the next thirty years will bring.  My prayer for us is to keep serving the Lord together, loving and supporting each other, enjoying the world together, and seeing our children transform the world we live in.  I pray the Lord will satisfy us with long life (Psalm 91:16).  I love you Gregory!

We want to thank each person who was a part of  our wedding thirty years ago, wherever you are, we are grateful for the support you provided to us. To our family, friends and  community, thank you for your love, prayers and support of our marriage and our family.  We love you! We need each other to survive!  Your prayers and encouragement have strengthened us as a couple. May God richly bless you all!

Lastly, the music of our love! We have enjoyed so much music over the years.  We are thankful that the Lord gave us the gift of hearing, because our relationship has been enhanced by the sound of beautiful love songs during these thirty years.  Check out our list and see if any of your favorites appear.

30 Love Songs

1. Love Ballad  L.T.D.

2. When Somebody Loves You Back – Teddy Pendergrass

3. Never Too Much – Luther Vandross

4. Living for the Love of You – The Isley  Brothers

5. Joy and Pain –  Frankie Beverly & Maze

6. Devotion – Earth, Wind & Fire

7. Ribbon in the Sky – Stevie Wonder

8. You Give Good Love – Whitney Houston

9. For You – Kenny Lattimore

10. Our Love – Natalie Cole

11. Smile – Rene and Angela

12. Distant Lover – Marvin Gaye

13. Fallin’ – Alicia Keyes

14. Weak – SWV

15. Spend My Life With You – Eric Benet and Tamia

16. TeachMe – Musiq Soulchild

17. Wildflower – New Birth

18. I Hope That We Can Be Together Soon – Harold Melvin and the Bluenotes

19. Love Won’t Let Me Wait – Major Harris

20. You Make Me Feel Brand New – The Stylistics

21. Spell – Blue Magic

22. What You Gonna Do With My Lovin’ – Stephanie Mills

23. Cruisin’ – Smokey Robinson

24. You Are My Starship – Norman Connors feat. Michael Henderson

25. You Know How to Love Me – Phyllis Hyman

26. Let’s Stay Together – Al Green

27. In The Rain – Dramatics

28.  If This World Were Mine – Cheryl Lynn and Luther Vandross

29.  Vision of Love – Mariah Carey

30. So High – John Legend