Every Day is a Celebration

The first time I saw him I couldn't eat.

 Which is a miracle in itself--me, not able to eat?

 He sat across from me at dinner and talked to my dad. I stared at my plate and picked at my food, afraid to look at him. He was the most beautiful male creature I had ever seen!
  It was the first time we had visited this church for their missions conference and they put on quite a spread. For all the visitors there was housing provided, 3 hot meals daily, and great services with excellent music, plays and preaching. I was quite impressed. But even more than the smoked brisket (it was Texas, after all), I was impressed with that guy with the blonde hair and the blue eyes. I was impressed with the way he listened to godly men of God speak. When the teens were talking and goofing around at one end of the table, he was leaning in to hear what the preachers had to say--probably hoping to glean a little wisdom from their years of experience. I was impressed with his sweet personality, his friendliness and the fact that he wasn't just plain immature like a lot of the guys I knew. I noticed that he was a servant, always helping people.

 So maybe I'm a little embarrassed when I think back and remember that I noticed all this stuff about a guy I hardly talked to, but I guess it was good because a year later he wanted to get to know me. I was in complete shock. I cried, actually. He was the perfect guy. He loved God, sang, had a great personality, played sports and was good looking to boot! These are the guys you snatch up without question because they are rare breeds in the day that we live.
 Well, I did have a few questions and thus began hours of phone conversation. We asked each other everything we could think of to get to know the other as much as possible. We laughed and joked but we talked seriously too. I was afraid that something bad would happen--that it was all too good to be true--so I tried to keep my heart to myself as much as I could. It wasn't working and I was falling for him fast. Every day I prayed and asked the Lord if it wasn't his will that he would take away my feelings, please stop it now before we got in to far. All he did was make my feelings stronger and show me verses in the Bible confirming that this was the man he wanted me to be with.

 A few months later, my dad bought him a plane ticket and worked it out for Nate to surprise me for Christmas. Our family sat at a resturuant for breakfast and as I talked to Nate on the phone for a minute, he walked up to our table with pink roses. ( I later learned that my dad had prompted him to get the roses because white is for friendship, pink is for something more than friendship and red is for love. They were perfect!)
 After the shock wore off, my dad said, "he came here to ask if you would court him," because Nate was a little flustered to say it himself. ;)
 I said yes, and once again I couldn't eat that morning at breakfast as I sat in awe, still hardly able to look into those piercing blue eyes. God hadn't given me the man of my dreams, he had exceeded what I ever dreamed I would get in a man.
 Over the next almost 2 years, we had a long distance relationship that consisted of hours of talking, web cam,  emails and online chatting. Our visits were every few months and every time I grew closer and closer to him and knew I could not spend the rest of my life without him.
  In August we were engaged and the following June, I walked down the aisle to meet him at the altar where we held hands for the first time, hugged for the first time and kissed for the very first time. As I looked into his eyes and said my vows, I didn't think there was any way I could possibly love him any more than I did at that moment.

5 years, 2 kids-and-one-on-the-way later, my love for this man has grown stronger than anything I ever thought possible. Every day he continues to exceed my dreams. And I'm being honest--I know that everyone says that they "have the best spouse in the world", but this one is truly a rare breed. The best things about him are his patience, care, love and respect for me, his servants heart and the way he helps me with the kids and loves to please me. His walk with the Lord and sensitivity to the Holy Spirit convict me almost daily to strengthen my walk with Jesus Christ.

 2 weeks ago we celebrated our 5th anniversary. It was a very different day from the one we had celebrated 5 years before but our love, commitment and respect for each other far exceeded that day. Because we were travelling, we stayed in a friend's house with my sister in the room and I wore baggy pink p.j. pants that night, but we weren't dependent on a fancy hotel and bubble bath to prove that we loved each other, that we had something to celebrate. The wonderful life that we share together, the daily chores, talks, watching our kids grow, laughing all the while, is something that is worth celebrating every single day. I am living a dream that I never really thought was possible. My husband loves God, me and our children. Yes, each day is a celebration in my book.
 Happy Anniversary, baby. Because of you I have something to celebrate every day. I love you.

 P.S.: The following week, we were able to spend a night away in a beautiful hotel and take time to focus on each other--so no feeling sorry for us ;)