Sunday, May 20, 2012

Celebrating 17

Today is my 17th wedding anniversary.

For the last 17 years God has allowed me the privilege of learning to be more like Him, by learning to love Nathan unconditionally and serving him.  Today more than ever, I am convinced that marriage is the earthly representation of God's covenant love for us.  My marriage to Nathan is more than a name change.  It's more than a contract or a relationship.  It's a covenant.  It's a vow.  It's truly "Until death do us part".  My heart is acutely aware of the importance of the words I spoke to Nathan in front of God and the company of witnesses 17 years ago today. 

We have overcome so much these last years.  Truly without the loving mercy of my Heavenly Father, I would be another statistic.  My marriage would have ended in divorce and my children would be forced to play the custody game.  We have overcome some serious issues and have worked HARD to salvage our marriage.  Counseling, Celebrate Recovery, prayer, personal work, accountability have all been part of our journey.  I have an AMAZING marriage.  Nathan and I can communicate about anything.  We often hurt each other's feelings, but we keep short tabs.  Hurts, tears and frustrations are talked about immediately and problems dealt with promptly.  There are still unmet expectations, but most of the time we set our boundaries and learn to respectfully love each other.  God is our primary love.  I love God more than Nathan.  Here on earth I don't want to be apart from Nathan longer than is necessary, but ultimately my heart longs to be with Jesus. 

There are things about Nathan that still frustrate me after 17 years.  I know that I have many character flaws that drive Nathan crazy.  Yet, we still hang in there.  I will NEVER be able to change him.  I can however help him to grow and change in Christ.  I can pray for him and over him, serve him, submit to him, respect him, honor him, LOVE him.  I keep looking for the good in Nathan and that's what I keep finding, even after all this time.

This weekend was relaxing.  We had great food, great conversation, lots of sleep (nice to wake up at 9 instead of 5:30am) and time to work together on the house.  It was the perfect gift and I'm grateful. 

Nathan will never read this blog.  He hates the Internet.  He only uses it for eBay, YouTube and diesel forums.  This blog is for me.  It is a place that I can let myself and the world know just how much I love Nathan Roy Flint and how grateful I am to share my life with him.  To God be the glory! 

1 comment:

Maren said...

17 years. That is absolutely fantastic! :) I really hope I achieve that :)