Ode to Marriage

Today Todd and I celebrate 14 years of Marriage. I love the term Randy Gariss uses in his marriage talks for love: "Gutting it out". And, although that's not the most romantic of descriptions for those of you getting married or dreaming of getting married, after 14 years of really good and a little not so good, I'm pretty proud of how we've "gutted it out"!!

God has blessed me with an amazing husband. I'm not just saying that. Sure, he leaves his dirty socks in the living room and doesn't clean whiskers off the sink after he shaves, but...

Have you seen what an awesome dad he is?!

Have you seen him sit at the table with Sarah Jane and draw superheroes and other things for hours?

Have you watched him carry 3 or 4 small children on his back, pretending to be Aslan or other wild animal?

Have you noticed the gracious and patient way he laughs at himself and allows others to laugh when he forgets things?

Did you know that he never complains when I ask him to clean the bathroom while I take the easier jobs?

Did you realize that everyday things you and I take for granted (like remembering what we need to do tomorrow, or what you and I talked about yesterday, or finding your car in the parking lot...) are 3x as hard for him, but he has chosen not to give up or play the martyr (I'm much more prone to that...)?

Did you know that he sends me flowers and love notes and writes me poetry (granted, it's corny and sometimes involves topics like breakfast cereal)?

Have you noticed that Todd loves college students....loves talking with them, reading with them, watching football with them, laughing with them?

Have you ever considered how much character it must take to go through the kind of life changes Todd has with brain surgeries and radiation and rehab and specialists? And to still laugh and love life??

Do you know how much Todd challenges me spiritually with the things he's reading or things God is teaching him? How he challenges me to seek after God more urgently?


Anniversaries are good. I sometimes forget how lucky I am. Sure, it's not always perfect, but I really do have an amazing life, and an amazing husband. God put us together because He knew I needed Todd. I needed his gentleness, his kindness, his memory problems, his passion for books, his love of football, his beautiful brown eyes and long eyelashes that were given to our children.....God knew we would be able to serve Him better together than separately.

I know, this is a little mushy. But it's our Anniversary. I think I'm allowed.