More Love

I loved you at 22.

And today, I love you at 34.

Tomorrow and the next tomorrow and a hundred thousand million tomorrows later, I'll still love you.

I said "I do" and promised before God, family, and friends to love you forever. That was 12 years ago today. Twelve very short and very full years.

Never once have I wondered if I made a mistake. Never once have I wondered if I settled. But, over and over I have wondered why you chose me and what I did to deserve you.

And then I remember that God, in his infinite wisdom, knew what I needed and what you needed. He knew that together we had more potential to lead and serve and impact in greater ways than we would alone. He knew that you and I had passions and dreams and goals that would wonderfully mesh so that, together, we would dare to take risks. He knew that together we would encourage and motivate each other to live and give and sacrifice in ways to make Jesus famous.

He knew that together we would be an unstoppable team.

When I met you, you were running toward Jesus with your eyes focused on Him. As I got to know you, I knew you could be the best one for me because I discovered you loved Jesus more than you'd ever want to love me. When we got married, we decided that we'd give everything we had and everything we hoped to have in a team effort of running toward Jesus.

Twelve years later, we've encountered bumps and endured some bruises, but we're still running - hand in hand and heart to heart - toward Jesus. He's our goal. He's our prize. And we now have the wonderful opportunity to show our three kids the joyride of living life while running toward Jesus.

It's a privilege to love you. It's a joy to love you. It's a gift to call you mine. Happy 12th Anniversary, Babe!

(P.S. Yes, Babe, the dress still fits.)