Here we are, 5 years in. Happy anniversary!
You have been a great gift to me, and here are the full 50 reasons (among others) that I love you.
1. You’re easy to be with. There’s no one else in the world I find more restful and refreshing to be with than you. Actually, I can’t really relax without you.
2. You want to spur other men on toward Christ. I love your earnestness in encouraging and exhorting your brothers… family brothers, seminary brothers, staff brothers, spiritual brothers.
3. You like my cooking.
4. You pray with our son and for our little unborn one.
5. You sing with gusto and keep a hymnal in the car so we can sing on the road.
6. You make it easy and enjoyable to show hospitality to others. You engage so easily with others, you love to welcome newcomers, you carry a conversation, and you are happy to pitch in with dishes.
7. You accommodate me so often, like watching movies and eating foods I like.
8. You want to lean forward in memorizing Scripture. It’s a great encouragement to me.
9. You have already grown so much as a father… in tenderness, wisdom, discipline, encouragement, and thoughtfulness. I look forward to parenting together through all the different seasons ahead.
10. You are enthusiastic about everything. You engage life with gusto. You have a rare capacity for enjoyment of almost anything.
11. You encourage me to use my gifts and find ways to stay active in ministry—even as seasons of life and capacity change.
12. You share biblical insights with me, from your Bible reading, your Greek studies, your young adult work, or your classes.
13. You are open to input. We’ve had plenty of conflict, disagreements, and misunderstandings. I love your willingness to hear and try to understand, your humility and readiness to repent, and your growth in grace. I know you’ll listen to me, and even when I’m the one in the wrong, you bear with me in great gentleness.
14. You don’t care too much about fashion and a perfect appearance (which I really appreciate, being a pretty low-maintenance woman). But you value any efforts to look special, on those occasions when I do.
15. You like reading books with me and do great accents. P.G. Wodehouse, Paul Tripp, Patrick McManus, C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and so on have given us lots of good times together.
16. You are serious about having a pure heart and pure mind for me.
17. I love watching you play with blocks on the floor with Victor. You line up all the blocks in a row, and he walks around in deep contemplation, messing up your design and saying, “Let’s see here…” and “Know what?”
18. You are very, very generous. You enjoy giving gifts, and you have a huge imagination about ways to bless others.
19. You’re always willing to try new things.
20. You’ve looked for ways to connect with my family (and, the awkward sledding excursion aside, you’ve done great!).
21. You respect authority. I really appreciate the way you honor and show high regard for those set over you.
22. You look forward to growing old together, the white hairs, the rocking chairs, the hearing aids. We laugh about it, because we’re already acting like old people quite a bit (deaf, early to bed, forgetful, pretty boring). I’m glad I don’t have to be afraid of what you’ll do when I’m wrinkly and gray.
23. You help around home a LOT. Dishes, laundry, cleaning, taking garbage out… And you always say the really dirty stuff (like cleaning the toilet) is your job, not mine.
24. You give the absolute best back massages and neck rubs. For a lady who carries her stress in her shoulders, this is an amazing gift.
25. You have really bought into living a wartime lifestyle. (Of course, full-time seminary and part-time work limits options somewhat too, but it doesn’t feel like that made a dramatic difference in how we live.) At the same time, you aren’t stingy. You say no to a lot of things so that you can say yes to other things that matter more. I love that.
26. You are a great welcomer of newcomers. I love your alertness to people who might be new or hanging out on the fringes.
27. You draw fun pictures. I still have all kinds of notes from before we were married; almost all of them from you have some fun drawing or design. (And almost all of mine are bullet points.)
28. You are careful about your priorities. You’ve got a really full plate right now, and I see you being really careful about where you spend your discretionary time (whatever that is…). You are very intentional about giving me and Victor good quality time.
29. You really desire unbelievers to come to Christ. And you’re taking opportunities to grow in evangelism and look for open doors to reach out to people who come across your path.
30. You cannot keep a secret (from me anyway). It kills you.
31. You have a great appreciation for nature and see the handiwork of God. (I tend to keep my eyes on the sidewalk in front of me.)
32. You aren’t afraid of looking silly.
33. You seek to honor your mother and father.
34. You get excited with me about finding a good deal.
35. You are equally glad to spend a date night quietly at home or out doing something fun. You like one-on-one time, and you like get togethers with friends and family. But whatever the case, it’s your goal to have a date night every week, even in this crazy season, and that means a ton.
36. You thank me for feeding you vegetables.
37. You are eager to lend a hand when someone needs help.
38. You have given such a great gift in having ongoing pray and plan times, since even before we were married. We don’t do it as often as we want to… but every time we do, I am freshly thankful for the remarkable grace that comes through that simple time of sharing and prayer.
39. You’re very handsome.
40. You still hold my hand.
41. Even though it’s gotten trickier, you still take initiative to get us a weekend away, maybe once a year, give or take. This is a great gift! Yay for an anniversary getaway this weekend!
42. You get Victor up each morning so I can have a quiet time.
43. You picked up running so that we could exercise together, even though our running styles vary somewhat dramatically. And you go my pace. (Well, you used to. I don’t have a pace right now…)
44. During our family gatherings, you nearly always cheerfully play with and entertain the children. They love it. The rest of the parents love it. I know you love it, but sometimes it is also a willing sacrifice for the sake of others who are in the middle of a conversation.
45. You kill bugs, dispose of moldy peas, and generally do lots of dirty work around here.
46. You still say that you like our wedding best. You still turn up the volume when our processional comes on. You still come back to those sweet words in 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24…
47. You don’t live near the compost pile. You are quick to move past the ugly parts of our relationship and look for grace.
48. You can fix so many things. You’re very handy. (This is not a real strong point in my side of the family…)
49. You tell me you’re on my team.
50. You repent of sin and look for God’s grace to grow and change. You are the man I married, yet in so many ways you reflect Christ to me more fully now. You encourage me to be a better reflection of Christ too.
Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely, and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24).
I love you. Thank you for these 5 years. The best is yet to come.
Amy
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