Monday, November 5, 2012

Seven Years


Seven years ago today Ryan and I were married. There are no words that I can say that can truly convey the depths of the love I feel for him, nor are there words that can truly capture how blessed I feel to have been able to spend the past seven years of my life as his wife. Our first night that we hung out was spent talking about God and theology into the wee hours of the morning. Looking back on that evening now, God had set the tone from the very beginning. I vividly remember him leaning against a wall after we had been dating a couple of months and the Lord was clear, “you are looking at the man you will marry.”

The past seven years have been nothing short of beautiful. God has been so kind to me in giving me Ryan. Ryan, you are a man to be admired, respected, and revered. And I hold all of those feelings deep inside of me for you. I have learned more about God’s love for me through the way that you love me so passionately, deeply, and sacrificially. You’ve taught me how to love and how to be loved. You’ve taught me how to trust and restored my hope in mankind. You and I share that once in a lifetime love. We have the kind of love that is depicted in the movies and little girls dream of. We are blessed. And I pray that above all, our love represents Christ well. I pray that the way that we love each other teaches our kids about Christ’s love for them. I pray that our little boys grow up to be half the man you are. I pray that they watch you carefully and that the man you are rubs off onto them. I pray that they see a man who loves well, not just me but how you love them and how you love others. I pray that our boys see the importance of hard work and providing for your family. I pray that they learn about integrity, honesty and character from you. Above all, I pray that they learn what it means to be a man after God’s heart as you are. For our girls, I pray that by your example, I pray that they see the way a man should love, how a man should lead, and how a man should respect his wife and how much he loves his family. And I pray that they never settle for anything less.

 Yesterday as me and the girls drove down the road, Luci was talking about “her daddy” and she says, “he loves me.” I love that at 2 years of age, she knows that her daddy loves her. And I love watching the older kids “preach like daddy” and watching them admire you in their own ways. They all love you deeply and that is just a reflection of what a good man you are.

I love you Ryan. I love you more today than I did seven years ago. I never in a million years imagined that we’d share a love that reached the depths and lengths that ours does. Your presence a lone gives me a peace that I could never explain. I love the way it feels when your hand takes mine. Or the way I feel when you hold me. We’ve seen some amazing parts of this world together, we’ve had experiences that many never will. Yet, my favorite place to be is curling up with you at the end of the day. I love ending my day with you. It’s been seven years. Seven years and five babies. It’s been nothing short of love, beauty and God. Thank you Ryan…and thank you Jesus.

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