Eight Years In…

I can not begin to express how humbled I am when I think about my husband. I am beyond gratitude for the gift that he is to me. I would run out of synonyms for the word “thankful” in praising God for what He gave me in Rob. 

Here’s what I know today:

• He takes care of me. He takes care of my heart when it hurts. He takes care of me when I am sick. He longs to do everything he can day in and day out to show me that his heart is for me. 
• He loves me. He knows every secret. He’s seen me at my worst, and he didn’t love me any differently than he did at my best. He seeks to show the world how Christ loves His church by how he loves me. He is teaching our daughter how she should be loved and our son how he should love someday. 
• He works hard for us. There is no end to his desire to provide for our family by working unto the Lord every day. Every bit of risk we took by uprooting our life has been matched by his tireless and exhaustive efforts to build something that honors God. 
• He loves Jesus. Oh he deeply and wholeheartedly loves Jesus. Everything he is and strives to be is consumed by that. His eyes are ever-fixed on the person of Christ. He is reaching and straining so that our ceiling may be as high as possible so it would be our children’s floor, and that they would go further with the Lord than we have ever dreamed. 
• We were right in choosing. We were still teenagers when we recognized what God was giving us. We lifted our eyes to Him and began praying for each other years before we met. We didn’t know how quickly God would bring us together, but we were right in choosing to trust a God who was rich in love and answered our prayers. We didn’t choose each other. We chose God first, and we were blessed with each other out of that choice. 
• He is the best friend I’ll ever have. Our friendship has grown so much as we have leaned on each other in adjusting to our new life. If there’s one thing I know it’s that liking each other has gotten us through so much loneliness. We have had the foundation of friendship to stand on as we have braved the ups and down of moving. I’m glad I have a best friend like him. 

Eight years in I am more in love than I was on June 23, 2007. I thought I would just bubble over or burst from the joy I felt then. I could not imagine more happiness, and I can’t imagine how I will feel 10, 20, or 70 years from now. I know that every experience we have shared is more than I could have ever dreamed of. I am adorned with beauty instead of ashes, and my garment of praise sings songs that will ring out into eternity (Isaiah 61) because my cup runneth over! I thank God for you Rob, and I love you, no matter what.