9 Years!

If you had asked me the day I got married to John where I thought we would be in 9 years I would never have guessed the life we now live.  I guess that that would be true of most people though.  In my youth I didn't know much about love when I thought that I did.  Love between two people who have promised to stick together no matter what can be the most dynamic, the most comforting, and the most fulfilling.  (Especially when they both serve the Lord)  My love for John has grown deeper and more intimate than ever and it will only grow more that way as we continue to pursue each other.  Sure, there have been times that we have not been loving to each other and these were harder, more lonely times.  We were lost from each other and had to find our ways back together.  Like Hansel and Gretel, we learned to leave a breadcrumb trail back home and then follow that path when we found ourselves lost again.  When I see John trying to love me my heart swells.  The fact that he loves me and looks for ways to bless me is astounding.  Someone loves me!  And he doesn't just love me because he feels like it...let me tell you, it is not always easy to love me.  And yet, he chooses to.
Marriage has grown me in ways I wouldn't have grown if I had never met John and never promised to spend the rest of my life with him.  If we had decided to live together and not get married I think that we may still be together today but it would have been a rougher road with who knows what kind of damage occurring along the way.  John PROMISED to be my husband for as long as he or I live.  I can and must count on his faithfulness to keep this promise just as he must count on mine.  It is this that forms the foundation of our bond.  When I think of him, my soul sighs in relief that he is my faithful partner through whatever may befall me.  I have been loving John for 13 years and I look forward to the many (many!) years to come.

Our 9th Anniversary date at Hill Top in Novato.