when you need to remember...

i read this and wept. 

these words that pierced straight through my heart came on the heels of stumbling across a gift from my sister.  given to us on the eve of our vows, the book was filled with letters from loved ones.  pouring out their best marriage advice to us.  tips for how to make our marriage successful.

the number one theme of those letters...marriage is work.  and sacrifice.

i've failed him.  too many times in four short years.  and yet, our love grows stronger. 

we rarely have a date night.  we don't lavish one another with big, extravagant gifts.  we don't stroll down the moonlit beach, hand in hand, dreaming of the future.  we don't run through fields towards each other. 

we don't have the fairy tale.

but...

we do laugh.  out loud.  a lot.  i married a man who has the heart of a big kid.  thus, life tends to be a barrel of laughs.  he teaches me {over and over and over again} not to take life so seriously. 

he makes sure the cabinet always has coffee.  and in the event it does not, he rushes to the store in the dark of the night.  rescuing me from the pits of a decaffeinated morning stupor. he understands the ice cream love language.  and doesn't blink an eye about dashing out when the freezer is empty.   my heart goes pitter-patter a little louder.

he stops on a dime when he gets a text that i need deodorant.  or tampons.  no questions asked or big-man embarrassment.  he runs to the closest dollar general and brings home requested items.  and my heart flutters a little more.

our hands seem to find each other in the most random of moments.  and he wraps me up in giant hugs as i clean the kitchen.  there are moments, when i catch him gazing at me, that i feel like the most beautiful woman in the world.  funny how catching my reflection through his green eyes changes my perspective. 

he gives me quiet time to read.  and allows me to sneak away for regular communion with my beloved sisters in Christ.  he understands that it isn't news unless it falls from the lips of matt lauer and savannah guthrie.  he surprises me with surcies when i least expect them.  he allows me to dream, entertaining the thoughts in his own heart. 

we do run through this life towards each other.  through the hurt and the disappointment.  through the long, stressful days.  and through the curve balls and unexpected. 


he loves me well.

and that's the best fairy tale of all. 

there are three things that amaze me—
    no, four things that i don’t understand:
how an eagle glides through the sky,
    how a snake slithers on a rock,
    how a ship navigates the ocean,
    how a man loves a woman.

proverbs 30:18-19