Concluding our story...❤
Can you believe I am finally concluding our story today? Though our story will continue as God has many more things to pen and there is so much life to be lived, I will end this part of our story for you. You are a champ for tagging along. 🏆
These last several years of our marriage, God seen us through some other challenges. Especially this last year as He called us to step out in faith and into new beginnings in areas that we had been settled and comfortable for some time. It was definitely one of my hardest years taking on new adventures in a new job and seeing changes in relationships that were so dear to me. But through it all and through my many tears, God carried me. New joys, relationships, blessings, and new mercies! He is a good Father! Though it all, I gained new appreciation and awe of my husband. He loved me so well! There were many days last year that I was difficult to love but he only loved me more. He met me where I was and loved me through every part. Such a beautiful reality of what God designed marriage to be. Loving as He loves and Matt has done that so well. ❤
Through every hardship that has come up in our marriage over the years, God has been faithful. Did you get that? GOD HAS BEEN FAITHFUL! Even when we were faithless, God remained faithFUL! Praise HIM! God has been there every step of the way and continually makes something beautiful out of each hardship!
What we have discovered is that God desires us to be holy more than happy. When we seek holiness from His perfect will, there is a joy unspeakable. Times can be difficulties but peace and joy from our God can remain.
When you are down on your face and have nowhere else to look but up, you see His grace and mercy in ways that bring peace and healing. I can look back over our 25 years of marriage and, yes, I see those difficult times, but more than that now, I see the beauty that God brings from it. I see how we have fallen in love over and over again. I see the deep faith it has instilled in our marriage and family. I see the incredible strength God gave us and continues to give us. I see how our faith impacts our children and as they continue to grow, our desire is that they follow Jesus and live for HIM only. Most importantly, I see the love of a Father on His precious children and how that deep love changed our lives!
I have fallen in love with my husband deeper than I ever thought possible over these last 25 years. Our love has expanded even larger than our waistlines. 😉 When we began our marriage, I used to love the sight of our shoes side-by-side on the floor or our toothbrushes together by the bathroom sink. Twenty-five years later the bottles of our blood pressure pills are side-by-side and I still get a touchy-feely moment of togetherness. Maybe a little different perspective. Lol! 😜 Its a reminder that we aren't so young and carefree anymore but it definitely shows we've lived a lot of life together. TOGETHER! Together is always better!
When I said, “I do”, I never thought I could love him more than at that moment but God has shown me differently. The love grew and took shape into something deeper, more meaningful, just like the love for my God. The more I know my God…truly know Him, the deeper my love for Him goes.
Throughout this week, I have shared a brief part of our married life together. This may have been more information than you cared to have heard, but there is so much more than can’t fit onto these pages. Most of these treasured moments are written on the delicate places of my heart and will remain. I love the place we are in our marriage. Through the challenges of last year, God brought such a sweetness out of it that is refreshing and full of new hope in life. Our lives are rich and full of love. Our marriage is not perfect but it is OURS! We work hard at it. We show each other grace and forgiveness and we know that through every day as our relationship with God grows, so will our relationship with each other. It’s all about HIM!
That is the secret to a great marriage….God! If you do marriage any other way you will miss out on all the benefits that God makes available to you. God designed marriage and we will continue to give HIM his rightful place in ours. I pray you will do the same in yours. We can't let our guard down. Marriage is special and needs daily protection and safeguards in place to keep it honorable before God. The enemy wants nothing more than to tear marriages apart. But we will bow low before God so we can stand strong before the enemy! It is worth it!
Thanks for taking the journey with me this week! I do wish I was sitting across the table from you at the coffee house sharing this story as we sipped our frothy lattes. But I am so grateful you joined me here. (I was sipping my coffee from my own coffee bar as I was penning these words. 😉) Its been a joy to take this walk down memory lane with you. God is so faithful and He continues to amaze me every day! To HIM be ALL glory!
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, 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. Love never fails.”
1 Corinthians 13:4-8a
“But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen you [setting you on a firm foundation] and will protect and guard you from the evil one.”
2 Thessalonians 3:3 (AMP)
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