After thirteen years of marriage, I can finally say to my husband, “I love you more today than I did the day we were married.” I couldn’t say that 5 years ago. It took the work of God in my heart. I praise Him for this every day.After thirteen years of marriage, I know I can submit to the strength and spiritual wisdom of my husband, trusting that he has consulted God in every matter and is leading our family in the direction God intends for us. I couldn’t say that 5 years ago. God exposed my ugly pride and has taught me to hold my tongue. He is also teaching me the importance of building up my husband and lifting him up in prayer. I’m learning that part of submission is to “duck so that God can hit His target.”
After thirteen years of marriage, I know that I can rely on the father of our children to be a Daddy. The most amazing Daddy I know. A Daddy who loves his sons with every fiber of his being. A Daddy who walks into the house every night with a big, “He-ey!’ and his arms flung out to catch a running-hug. A Daddy who takes his younger son out to coffee before school and who meets his older son for lunch and recess. A Daddy who shows up at conferences, practices, games, family math and reading nights, school movie nights, jog-a-thons and even class parties. A Daddy who stops the lawn mower and runs into the house to grab the boys to go look at a snake he found. A Daddy who takes the time to research the ugly spider his boys capture in a jar. A Daddy who reads The Chronicles of Narnia to his boys and helps them memorize their Bible verses. A Daddy who wants to spend every possible minute with his children. I couldn’t say that 3 years ago. God has taught me to stop nagging, stop comparing and start praying. God has taught Mitch about how important he is in the lives of his children. I can’t tell you how much this blesses me.
After thirteen years of marriage, my husband is on my mind day and night. I am amazed by this. I am in awe. I get emotional thinking about how much that man means to me. He is my best friend. I couldn’t say that 5 years ago. But God has been drawing us closer together as we draw closer to Him. You guys, it really does work! Draw closer to God and make Him the center of your marriage, and you will fall in love more deeply than you ever imagined. I am in awe.
There have been times over the years when I have read tribute blog posts where the perfect wife thanks her perfect husband for their perfect marriage and for being so perfect. All it ever did for me was make me angry at my imperfect husband.
Obviously, I’m not the perfect wife. And I’m not married to a perfect man. We are all imperfect people. In Matthew 19:25-26, Jesus’ disciples ask him, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
Jesus was talking about entering the Kingdom of Heaven, but I believe that verse can be applied to all of the areas of our lives. With Him, ALL things are possible. He is able to break down walls and soften hearts. He is able to shine light on the dark areas of our lives and refresh our spirits and renew our love. That is the verse I claim for my marriage, because in the last five years, I have seen how God can work in my shallow, bitter, angry heart and fill it with true, sincere, lasting love for my imperfect husband.
My heart aches and my eyes fill with tears because thirteen years ago God gave me the confidence and peace in my heart to say “I do” and marry the imperfect man who is my perfect match.
Written by Kelleigh as borrowed from her blog KelleighRatzlaff.com. Kelleigh is a wife to Mitch (for 13 years!) and mom to 2 boys.
Posted by Alysun
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