18 Years of Wedded Bliss ~ Mostly

My Beloved and I recently celebrated our 18th wedding anniversary. We had a rare getaway from the children; well, Josiah got to come ~ he's still nursing! I just have to share that I have The Best Husband EVER!!!! You may argue, but I know I am right. We spent the better part of 3 days thrift shopping. We hit about 10 different thrift stores, because my Beloved knows how much I enjoy "The Hunt". He never complained, he never rushed me, he just let me shop to my heart's content. He was, however, slightly disappointed when he found out it wasn't about how many thrift stores we could hit, but about finding good deals. LOL Once we were straight on that, he willingly gave up that little "competitive" thought, and let me go. :-)

I am so thankful to have made it this far. Both being children of divorce, statistics and our society would say that we too, would follow that path. But God.

As I think back over the years of our marriage, I am amazed that we are still married. I have often been, shall we say, difficult to live with; not that my Beloved is always the easiest person to live with! However, when I think about my behavior, I know that had I been married to a lesser man, I would be a divorced Mom. My Beloved has put up with a lot over the years ~ much I am ashamed to even think about. I have never been unfaithful, but I have been nasty- saying hurtful things, I was not an honoring daughter-in-law to his folks, I have gone out of my way to make him miserable because I was miserable. And yet, here we are, 18 years and 8 children later, happily married, more in love than when we said "I do".

Because we love the Lord, we have grown closer together as we have grown closer to Him. We have a desire to be "one" ~ this is more than a physical oneness, but one in purpose, in vision, in belief. Because I desire to be a godly woman, I also desire to be a godly Wife and Mama, which means that I am continually learning to die to self and be servant-hearted toward my Beloved and my children. We have always been best friends, but we have made a concerted effort over the years to know each other more and more intimately, to be interested in things that the other is, to extend grace toward each other when we have misunderstandings or disagreements. Do we have the perfect relationship? Hardly! There are two sinners involved here! But as we mature in our walk of faith, we do better in our relationship with each other.

Our 18 years seem like they just began yesterday, and yet, they also seem like forever ~ isn't that the way all good things should be?

Thank you, Lord, for blessing me with a man who desires to follow You all the day's of his life.