I'm... thankful. Infact, just today, out of the blue, I get this:
I have no idea what I did. :)
But really, I didn't do anything. I can't take credit for one ounce of marital bliss. I am so thankful that God has been at work in our marriage. I'm thankful to have a husband who isn't afraid of getting his hands dirty when it comes to the hard stuff. I'm thankful for the very real examples of God's protection over our marriage even just in the last couple of weeks. Let me back up, yes I did say marital bliss. Now that comes with the package as newlyweds. I have a horrible memory but I do remember some of our first year of marriage. I remember the honeymoon- the smell of hawaiian tropic and plumeria, the amazing food, beautiful beaches and feeling like we could take on the WORLD. But what's almost surreal to me is how different those two people were from who we are today. SO different. In my unpacking I recently found a memorabilia box, various things from 12 years ago... and let me just say... HILARITY.
It was like a trainwreck- I couldn't NOT look. I kept reading (and laughing) at our dreamy plans and endearing pet names for each other. Not that we don't call each other "babe" and "love" now, but this was over the TOP. Yet again, two different people. My driving force is not what it was before. My heart is not what it was before. God has taken jealousy and replaced it with confidence. He took bitterness and replaced it with forgiveness. He took hurt and replaced it with healing. He took selfishness and replaced it with love. I am not who I was before, and it's for that exact reason that I love my husband more than I ever did when we were first married. Did you catch that? I didn't say it's because he isn't who he was before. Sure he has changed a lot over the years, mostly in the last couple. But that's not what deepened my love for him. God did. Then, as a result of God's work, I see what He is doing in my husband's heart- the way he serves me, the way he cares for me, the way he talks to our girls, how he disciplines them... and that propels the falling in love even more so. It's a vicious cycle, this love thing. ;)
So I'd say, when it comes to my marriage, I am thankful. So content. So loved. And so IN love. Can't wait for the next 12 years... and the next 12, and the next 12, and the next 12....
