Aug 3rd, 2010
If I really take time to think about the significance of today, my eyes well up with tears and my heart is a bit sad but overflows with gratitude. Today is the day that I married my beautiful wife 14 years ago. I ponder the past years and realize that Andrea is a true gift to me. It has been 14 years of laughter, love, memories, struggle, pain, faith, tears, forgiveness and restoration.
I see how truly amazing the love of Christ is by just revisiting who my wife is through His strength. We have shared in so many trips and vacations, blessed with 3 awesome kids and our needs are met daily by His provisions. He has worked with us, through us and most of all in spite of us.
I take great sadness in the ways that I have hurt Andrea through my actions and thoughts through the past 14 years though. I have not always shown her respect and honor. I have not loved her completely as Christ told us to love. I have been selfish with my own thoughts and desires. My actions have betrayed her trust and caused us to question how we would stay together. She has had a few opportunities to call it quits and leave for justifiable reasons........but through her reliance on Jesus she stuck it out.
She sees me as a work in progress by God. She has shown me His grace time and again. She loves me with all that she has and then digs into His reserves and asks for more when she doesn't have enough. She gives more than I deserve and that is why I see so much of our Savior in her character and heart. Once I push past the sadness of what I have done, I see the joy and gratitude for what HE has done!
So today I stand before you saying after 14 years, I understand each day a little bit more of God's love, forgiveness, and grace because of the undeserved gift of a Godly woman who was entrusted to me 14 years ago today. Andrea, I love you and pray that God continues to use us and know that He has many things purposed for us in the future!
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