Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Choose to be.


I John 4:8
God is LOVE




Today, my husband and I celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary.

20!

So many thoughts, and memories come to my mind when I see that number, and think of all the years behind it.


One in particular...

Whew-hoooo!
We finally made it!

There were times that the two of us weren't sure if we could make it past one day, much less that many years together.

Who knew, that two young, scared kids, with their hearts bursting with LOVE and hope, would make it this long?

Well, I know One who knew.


I think of the words that we have spoken to each other in that 20 year span as husband and wife.

Some good, some not so good.

I'm not going to pretend, that being that we have made it to 20 years, that we've got this whole "marriage thing" figured out, or that we have found the deep dark secret to making our LOVE last...
cuz, we definitely aren't perfect by all means.

(We are still trying to figure things out.)

I do know...

that we've come to realize that LOVE is not a feeling that continually fills our bellies with butterflies.

But instead, it is a choice to be.

A choice...
to be with eachother,
no matter what.

Has that always been our choice?

No.

Many times, we have fallen short of just that,
being...
and have chosen to walk a way a time or two.

But, as always...LOVE found a way.

  We have struggled through our stubborness and selfishness towards each other, and sifted through our own personal wants and needs, to have found our choice to LOVE inspite of it all.


God gently urged us back towards one another, and for that, I am grateful.


We have realized that LOVE is more of Christ, and less of  "me" or "I".

We have learned that LOVE is less trying to be right, and more willingness to admit you were wrong.

LOVE is more giving, and very little taking.

We know that for our LOVE to continue, our prayers for one another have to increase.

We've learned that our hands folded together in prayer, is better than our arms folded in anger.

We've learned that the Grace we receive, is the same Grace we must give to eachother.


We've learned that trials come and go, but LOVE doesn't have to.

I know...
that after each trial and struggle we go through, I find myself loving him harder and deeper, from a place within myself that I didn't even know existed.

My heart stretches for him into unending spaces, that I know only God knew were there.

God knew where our LOVE would take us.

And He knew we would go there together.

I know...
that without the One who molded our hearts together, and claimed them belonging to one another,
that we wouldn't be who we are today.

I know...
that without Him, we are not us.



When I was a little girl, I dreamed of that fairy tale romance.

The ultimate love story.

 The one that every girl dreams of.

I thought that it was untouchable.

A fantasy.

As I came to know the Lord, I realized that He was the ultimate LOVE story.

And as for the "fairy tale romance"...

I know now that we've been living it all this time.


What good fairy tale romance doesn't have it's struggles and trials while trying to conquer all in the name of LOVE?  

Then eventually finding and holding on to that LOVE and
making it together to the finish, in spite of all the obstacles.


We have fought off and slayed a few firey dragons...

drug addiction, Bullemia, unemployment, separation and financial struggle.

We have conquered the villains...

deceit, lies and selfishness.

We have stared the monster in its face at times...

as he played the villain, and I played the wicked witch.

We've held eachother tightly, as we felt the sting in our hearts, from the arrows of miscarriage.

We've watched eachother run away from the King of Kings...

and we've watched eachother lay our lives at His feet, then walk away in surrender.

 As we now worship our Savior yoked together, side by side...

we thank and praise Him for the Grace that we once took for granted.

We've realized that our LOVE for eachother is only enhanced by our LOVE for our Father.

It is a gift from Him,
not to be mistaken for anything less.

His LOVE for us runs deep and wide, and so should our love for one another be.

20 years...

I am still proud to be his bride.

His smile is still the best I've ever seen.

He still makes me laugh more than anyone on the planet.

I still catch him staring at me from across the room, and it still makes me blush.

He still tells me that he LOVES me each and every time he leaves, no matter where he is going and how little he will be gone.

And still, after all this time, his gentle and strong hand on my waist, can melt away all the aggravation of a hard day.

I am happy that we chose to say "I do" so many years ago, in the midst of our innocent and not-knowing LOVE.

I am glad we chose a life together.
I'm glad we simply chose to be.


Back then, we were two young kids in LOVE.

Today...
we are partners,
we are best friends,
we are confidants,
we are prayer warriors,
we are parents,
we are us,

and we are still in LOVE.


We choose to be.


je t'aime Frankie.
My beautiful Cajun man!
Happy Anniversary Babe!
Thank you for a lifetime of LOVE.

I love you...
and I love us!





Ephesians 5:21-28 
    Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.


Click below to listen:





Today, where ever you are in your marriage, choose to be...
God will do the rest.

Please feel free to share your LOVE story below in the comment section.











3 comments:

  1. Wishing you many more years filled with growing love!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Beautiful and thanks to the One from whom true love always comes!
    Have a blessed day of celebration,
    ava

    ReplyDelete
  3. Amazing blog Mrs. Tammy! I admit, I had teary eyes reading some of it, lol. God bless you guys, and Congratulations!!

    ReplyDelete

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