15 years

Today is my 15th wedding anniversary. That sounds so weird to me. It sounds so old and grown up and I still feel like the teenage bride that I once was. Most of the time anyway.
What an adventure marriage has been, and adulthood for that matter. We have been through so many of life's ups and downs together already. Births (we have 6 kids) and deaths (our 3rd child as well as extended family); marriage and divorce (my parents, soon after our marriage, his dad's); sickness (his mom's breast cancer and others) and health; poorer (living on 1 small income, failed business) and richer (thank goodness we don't have to live on dried pasta and beans anymore!); depression (both of us) and joys (innumerable).
I would love to say that through each roller coaster ride, we clung to each other and supported each other without fail. But that would not be entirely true. There have been times when we have turned our backs to each other, times when we have failed each other, times when we have not chosen to love with God's perfect love. We, as individuals, are not perfect and therefore as a couple, are not perfect. But we have persevered and God has protected us. When one of us felt like giving up, the other was there holding tight and refusing to let go. Refusing to let us fail. When one of us wanted to run away(usually me), the other gently closed the door and held the runner in his arms (usually him). When one of us could not take another step in life, when we felt overwhelmed with grief and circumstance, the other carried us on their backs and prayed us through the darkness.
Regardless of our individual failures, we as a couple have held fast, and with God's grace we have come out the other side stronger and better for it.
Marriage has not been an easy road for either of us, and over the last few years we have struggled often. I knew that we could stay together with God's help, but I had no hope of better than that. I had no idea of the redemption God had in store for us. What it would look like when we both saw each other as God sees us, when we loved each other with His love.
We have a marriage redeemed and sanctified in God. Now that is something worth celebrating! I can barely comprehend the difference in our relationship. I am so thankful for our life together and the man I married. He makes me beautiful, he is dead sexy, he protects and cherishes me and his unconditional love is the greatest gift he could and does give. I hope that I have many more years to show him my love, to be his biggest cheerleader, to give him my greatest respect and to watch our family grow up together.
Honey, I love you, I thank God for you every day, I can't wait to see what the next 60 years have in store for us and how we will succeed as a team. You make me weak in the knees every. single. day. I can't wait to see you tonight, tell you of my love and to be held in your arms once more. Forever and ever, amen.

This post is supposed to have some lovely photos of us taken over the years, but I can't find my darn mini usb cord and the card reader on this thing is broke. So maybe later. Or just maybe I don't have to be humiliated by my nineties hair today.