Love Preserved.

My husband and I have been married for 13 years. 13 years! What amazing grace from the Lord! What a blessing! What a gift!

The world says opposites attract...indeed my husband Darren and I attract each other..and indeed we are opposites.

Groom: "Honey, come try the salsa I just made. I think it's my best batch yet!"
Bride: "Um...I think I'll pass. You know I don't like salsa, but it sure smells fresh!"

Bride: "Yyyyuuummm! The black olives on this pizza are delicious!"

Groom: "Kris, keep those things away from me. Black olives taste like dirt...literally."

Groom: "The boys have been asking to go swimming in the river, hon. I'm thinking we can take 'um on Saturday?"

Bride: "Ah, I don't think so. Our children are irreplacable, and wild rivers aren't to be trusted. But Bi-Mart's having a sale on blow-up, plastic baby pools...can we take the kids swimming in that?"

Last Saturday, my girlfriend Kellie and I had a garage sale. As she was thanking a customer for a purchase, she noticed on my tally sheet that I had made $6 on 2 'bibs'. She was pretty wowed by the fact that I owned such elaborate baby bibs that I was able to sell them at $3 a piece. I knew I wasn't selling any baby bibs, because, well, frankly, by your fourth child, you don't use bibs any more. That's when my husband chimed in and very proudly announced that he had sold our 2 snow-skiing overalls for a whopping $3 a piece. You know...the really big, bulky, warm, expensive outfits you put on to have fun in the snow with? I had to laugh! That customer sure got a deal...they were in really good condition! Point being, I chuckled and said to Kellie, "What would I do without my husband? Just getting to witness how his mind thinks really adds spice to my life." He made a huge profit selling the 'bibs' at $3 each? I love it!

13 years ago during our wedding ceremony, the pastor read a scripture that I believe was spoken as a vision of faith over us as we were becoming one-flesh and beginning a beautiful, life-long covenant with our Father.

He read Psalm 121:7-8
"The Lord shall preserve you from all evil;
He shall preserve your soul.

The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in
From this time forth, and even forevermore."

The Lord has preserved us. He has preserved us! He has preserved our time together, He has preserved our likings for one another, He has preserved our patience and forgiving towards each other, He has preserved our laughter together, He has preserved our listening and sharing together, He has preserved our intimacy and our child-like romance, He has preserved our vision for a family. He has taken our disagreements and arguments, our disappointments and short-comings, He has taken the 'wastelands' of our marriage, restored them to fertile ground in Him, and is preserving that wonderful newness for us! Jesus has and will continue forevermore to preserve our marriage. What peace.

He has preserved it for 13 years, and standing on His promise, we rest in the faithfulness of our Lord that He will continue to preserve it throughout our life-long marriage covenant.

So, as far as the world's saying goes, yes, in our case opposites attracted. Some of the 'opposites' have been easy to live with, some have been an adventure to live with, some have been fun to live with. Some have been the 'spice' in each others life, as we discover and see clearer the awesome uniqueness of one another. Some have been a lesson in patience and forgiveness, grace and acceptance. And that's OK! It's better than OK, it's God's perfect will and love for us, His children. He desires to preserve everything in us that is of Him, and change everything in us that is of this world. He's preserving our love for Him and for each other.

And we love that we never have to question what He's doing. He's in the business of restoring and preserving families. He certainly continues to preserve ours!

13 years after saying 'I do'...my husband still wakes me up in the morning by praying over me, kissing me goodbye as he leaves oh-so-early for work, and bends down as I lay in bed, just to hold my face in his hands and whisper, "Did you get more beautiful as you slept?"

That's the perfect love of Jesus! And He's preserving it.

For this entire flock of His.

Thank You, Lord...