W.A.R.
You Are More Than You Know
How Do I Love Thee? (I Can’t Count the Ways….)
This past June my husband and I celebrated 25 years of matrimony. Notice I didn’t say marital “bliss. Webster’s definition of matrimony is “the state of being married.” Marriage is considered a contract, a vow, a commitment to stay with your spouse, “for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part.” My husband and I meant those words and our confession has always been, “Divorce is not an option.”
I cannot tell you how many times in the past 25 years we have argued, stopped speaking for several days (weeks for me), disagreed, mumbled, complained about each other and fought like cats and dogs.
I also cannot tell you how many times we’ve laughed at corny jokes, kissed and made up, cuddled, shared candlelight dinners, picnics, comforted one another through tears and finished each other sentences.
1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (the so-called Love Verse) says, Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, get angry….yada, yada, yada…. Well that ain’t me!!
I am a very independent young lady who comes from a family of strong women! Me, my mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and aunts are very capable women and we proved this time and time again. However, my husband doesn’t take away from my independence, he adds to it. He deals with my mood swings with stability, my anxiety attacks with calmness, anger with kindness and chaos with peace. I’ve accepted his snoring, his bad feet, his country slang and addiction to all kinds of sports as part of him.
In our 25 years of marriage, my husband still shows me the “Agape” love of Jesus Christ and I continually show him God’s “longsuffering” attribute ;-). We are not perfect; in fact we are just the opposite, but knowing the heart of your love one makes all the difference.
My husband’s heart is to see me succeed, to be happy and at peace in life. My heart towards my husband is to be his supporter, defender and peace. We both have a heart for God and THEN each other. We agree to disagree however he makes the final decision and I have no problem submitting to him. My favorite saying regarding submission is, “The lower I duck the harder God can hit my husband!”
It is our Faith in God that makes us perfect for one another. Our trust in God’s Word teaches us to communicate with each other. Our love for God helps us to love each other unconditionally – flaws and all.
In 25 years, my weight has changed but not my love for him. I have more gray hair and more wisdom. I have crow feet around my eyes and laugh lines around my mouth. Yes we both have changed but not our confession. We are in this marriage ‘til death do us part’….so help us God!
I am a wife, mother, grandmother, co-pastor, employee and student. Join me as I navigate this maze called life. But be warned – if you decide to roll with me, you are in for a bumpy ride!
W.A.R. 