Love is...

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres...

Today Dear Husband and I celebrated our 9th anniversary! We celebrated family, our journey, our future, our friendship but mostly our love.

We started dating in back high school. After we graduated we had a ourselves a little family of four. We didn't get married until our second daughter was almost 1. We certainly started young and didn't follow any conventional methods but we were the best of friends and jumped in with two feet when we fell in love.

We both came from Catholic backgrounds but didn't have any faith. We lived very worldly and selfishly. About 3 years in (from the time we started to date) and before we got married things got pretty rough. Actually rough would be an understatement. There were many times we almost walked away. We were overwhelmed at best, inexperienced, dealing with past hurts and simply misguided.

When things were at it's worst and there seemed nothing left, we started to change. The Lord was seeking us and a desire to seek Him was growing in us. Hope was stirring in our hearts. For Dear Husband it was slower but for me I hit the ground running! I was so overcome by God's grace and His love! That He loved ME! I wanted in on this love and forgiveness.

We started attending a small church and got to know some new people. Slowly we allowed the Holy Spirit to work in our hearts. We started to shed years of hurts, learned to forgive and as we grew closer to the Lord we grew closer to each other. We got married about the same time as we gave our hearts to Jesus.

Today I can honestly say I love Dear Husband more then I ever have. I also give the Lord all the glory for where we are today; had it not been for Him, we would have ended our relationship a long time ago. I am thankful the Lord got a hold of our hearts, here we are, in love more then ever and still the best of friends.

Of course we have our fights just as everyone else and it's not always easy but we are firm in our commitment to each other, our marriage and the vows we shared. I couldn't image myself without Dear Husband! I wouldn't be me without him. God's leading in our family has been so powerful, I have to remember where we used to be and how far we have come. Truly I treasure our ever growing love, our beautiful relationship and how deeply I care, love and cherish Dear Husband.

Thank-You Lord Jesus for today! For the gift of my husband and our family. I pray Your leading in our lives every day, Your will not ours. Because You love us we can love in return and we thank-You for this precious love. Love that is selfless, unending, patient, kind and pure. I pray as the years go by Dear Husband and I would grow closer to You and whole heartedly serve You. May we always seek to love as You do and to sing Your praises everyday. You are a good God. We thank-You for all your good and perfect gifts. Amen