35 Years And I Still Adore Him

The other day my husband handed me a piece of mail that contained coupons.

Apparently he had not looked at them. The computers now keep track of previous sales and give you coupons for the specific things you have purchased in the past. I think this is great. I’ve been very careful to keep us on a healthy diet, so coupons are always good. I opened them up and funny thing~
there were coupons for organic orange juice, fresh fruits and vegetables, grass fed beef....

I looked up at him with a smirk.
“I don’t remember buying Pringle’s or peanut M&M’s” I said. He tried his hardest to keep a straight face but we both burst out laughing.
No way out of this one.
He thought he hid the evidence but he’d been caught.

Tomorrow we will celebrate our 35th wedding anniversary. That’s pretty baffling to me when I think about it. When I was little, I vividly remember my mom complaining about turning 35 because she thought it was so old.

I don’t know why that stuck with me,
but here I am.
Married that long.
To the same man. Haha

The man that can literally drive me insane. He can make me cry and scream and mutter things a pastor’s wife shouldn’t say under her breath.
But I adore him.
He’s my rock. He loves me no matter what. He makes me laugh when my heart slides down into dark places. He pulls me back out and shows me how to smile again. I love him with my everything and I’d do anything for that man, despite the Pringles and peanut M&M’s. 😉

Mike and I do not have a perfect marriage. We argue and fight and say things we shouldn’t say. Anger, bitterness and grudges have visited us. We’ve gone through some hard things. We definitely aren’t the epitome of the perfect couple, but in my eyes, everything about our marriage is beautiful.

When I think about how much I love him, I don’t think it could be possible for my heart to be any more full.
.....I know I’ve said this before, but it’s
just so phenomenal to me~
When I think about that kind of love, I can’t help but think of the overwhelming love God has for me, despite me.

There’s no hiding the evidence of my sins from God. He knows my every thought and deed. Can you grasp that? Our perfect, sinless God knows our EVERY thought and deed. Every single one. And yet, He loves us. He doesn’t hold it against us. He forgives us and has mercy and grace.

Just like Mike and I are celebrating our love on our anniversary tomorrow, in a few weeks we will be celebrating that amazing love God has for us. Christmas. The day He sent His Son to a little town called Bethlehem to be born for the sins of the whole world. The sins He took upon himself when He died on the cross.

Marriage isn’t always easy. There have been times I have not wanted to forgive. Times I was hurt and felt justified in holding onto the anger my heart felt. I’m sure Mike has felt the same way about me at times too. But when you love someone more than you love yourself, when you offer mercy and grace and put their needs above your own, it’s a beautiful thing.

Thank God He always forgives. Thank God that because of the blood His Son shed on the cross and the gift of salvation He offers, we are justified in His sight. Just as if we never sinned. In God’s eyes everything about us is perfect. And that’s a beautiful thing.

His love is the love that will make you laugh. That will pull you out of the dark places. That will give you joy. His love is the love that will never be angry or hold a grudge. His love is the love that knows about the Pringles and M&M’s of our lives, the things no one else knows, and yet loves us still. His love is perfect and beautiful and I adore Him.

As I celebrate with the love of my life tomorrow, that’s the beautiful I want our story to portray. That’s the beautiful I want you to behold and celebrate this Christmas. God’s perfect, beautiful love.

A love that causes me to adore Him,
but even more unfathomable is the knowledge that God adores me.

He adores me!!

He adores me with His everything,

And that’s such a beautiful, beautiful thing.