A Blissful Anniversary

I am so loved by my incredible husband.  So very loved.  He is . . . sigh . . . wonderful.  He shows me day by day how much he loves me & further highlights how insanely blessed I am to be his wife.  But this past week, he really outdid himself!

This past Thursday marked our 4-year anniversary.  In that funny way that time works, it seems impossible that it's been that long, & yet it also seems as though I've never known another reality.  I've certainly never known a superior reality!  This truth was underscored by the surprise celebration of our special day completely planned by my beloved.

Our celebration actually began Wednesday afternoon.  After packing everything up & dropping the dogs off at Allie's, we headed up to "the big city", where Michael had surreptitiously reserved a beautiful hotel room - complete with whirlpool tub, king bed, & loveseat.  After getting settled in, Michael whisked me off to Superior Bar & Grill (a reminder of my LA roots) for supper.  As instructed, I secured a table while he parked the truck.  What do I see as my beloved approaches our table but him carrying a beautiful yellow lily!  The hostesses (who had been told it was our anniversary) squealed with delight & gushed about how romantic he was.  It brings smiles to my face even now.  Following supper, he took me over to The Cheesecake Factory for our traditional strawberry shortcake dessert - which was divine - & a slice of cherry cheesecake.  Our waiter - also having been told that it was our anniversary - brought out a plate decorated with "Happy Anniversary" in chocolate sauce!  As I gazed out the window by our booth, I felt such contentedness at being with this amazing man.  He makes life so special!

This is really good so far, huh?  It doesn't compare with what awaited me as we returned to the hotel!  Now, you may know that our song - my favorite song - is Louis Armstrong's "La Vie En Rose".  And, you may also know that Michael & I both really like "Brown-Eyed Girl".  Well, my precious husband sneaked in a portable CD player, & we danced to both of these songs.  I have to admit, that when "La Vie En Rose" began to play, & I realized what he had done, I cried.  Following that up with "Brown-Eyed Girl" was smart, because the peppiness of it made me laugh.  As he twirled me around the room, I exclaimed, "I feel like Julia Roberts!"

You would think that was enough, right?  As Sweet T would say, my love tank was definitely full.  Apparently, my darling Michael wanted it to overflow!  He had also brought up his "Things I Love" list for us to read through.  We each made lists of the things we love early on in our relationship.  It was a good way to get to know each other better, & it's also a great tool for surprising someone on any special occasion.  Well, Michael brought his so we could read through all the things he liked about me then & he could reaffirm them.  Isn't that sweet?!  Guess what else he brought for us to read through . . . our vows.  We read them responsively so that he read his parts & I read mine.  We even kissed when he's told to "kiss his bride"!  Remember that whirlpool tub I mentioned earlier?  A little while later, he called me into the candlelit bathroom for a bubble bath!  It was the absolute perfect night celebrating our 4 years together, & I fell asleep perfectly contented.

The next day, the celebration continued as we visited Michael's favorite restaurant - Johnny Ray's - for lunch.  Just before we had left the hotel, Michael snuck a love letter into my purse.  I pulled it out & read it aloud when we finished eating lunch.  It was a good thing that we sat by the window so that I could turn away from the rest of the patrons while I cried.  He expressed such love for & happiness with me that my heart was fit to burst!  After drying up - & eating pie - we went to Solid Ground Christian Books for Michael's anniversary present & spent a good 2 hours visiting with Mike Gaydosh.  He's such a dear man to us both!  Michael got some great books, & we had some wonderful fellowship with this lovely man.  Of course, a stop by Costco is mandatory on any visit to "the big city", some of the fruits of which are being enjoyed by the puppies as we speak!  While there, my beloved purchased an exquisite bouquet of sunflowers!  I tied them up with ribbon & have them sitting right where I'll experience their loveliness most.  They're such happy flowers!  After leaving Costco, we picked up the dogs, got settled at home, & then enjoyed dinner at Olive Garden.  (Needless to say, we won't be eating out for months!)  It was so funny:  upon hearing Michael tell our waitress that it was our anniversary, 2 other couples right by us announced their anniversaries as well!  As I watched those other couples off & on (my attention was really taken up with Michael), I noticed that the husbands were rather unengaged.  Once again, I was filled with thankfulness to be married to my beloved, who was completely focused on me.  He is remarkable!

I know this is long, but I hope you've enjoyed my gushing over Michael & his anniversary surprise for me.  I'm only going to keep you long enough to tell you one more thing, a part of one of our conversations, from me to Michael:

"I have no need for purchased gifts, for what store could possibly contain anything to even remotely compare to the gift you are to me?  When God gave me you, He gave me everything I ever wanted."

I love you, my darling Michael!  Happy Anniversary!

Our Life-Changing Valentine's Day

The day was finally over, & I was able to relax.  Every day as a second grade teacher was exhausting.  Most days, I would come home & collapse on the sofa for a nap.  Most evenings, I would veg out in front of the TV, too spent to do much of anything else.  This day was no different, especially with the fervor surrounding Valentine's Day.  My kids - what I always called my students - were hyped up on excitement & sugar, which certainly didn't lessen their already chatty dispositions.  But I remember that day as a good day.  As always, I was spoiled with candy & presents.  My babies - my other pet name for them - always knew that I loved them & they loved me, too.  So, I made my short way home laden down with my loot & spent an uneventful, too-tired-to-do-anything evening on my couch.  Unbeknownst to me, my life was about to change.  This was my last Valentine's Day as a single woman.

My phone rang sometime in the 8 o'clock hour, & on the other end was one Michael Boyd.  We had been communicating through eHarmony's system, & I had taken the bold - & very unusual for me - move of giving my phone number if he should want to call.  Being a sweet romantic & thinking it would be a special anniversary should a relationship blossom between us, he chose Valentine's Day as our first phone call.  We spoke for a few hours that first night, & every night thereafter the phone was glued to our ears practically nonstop!  Within 2 weeks, I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life as his wife.  A mere 7 weeks after that first phone call, he proposed next to a sweet little lake & slipped the most exquisite ring on my finger.  And only 4 months from start to finish my dream came true, & I became Mrs. Michael Boyd.  Since that day, my life has been pure bliss!  I am most blessed among women to be married to this remarkable man!

Because of his foresight, Valentine's Day holds special meaning in our household due to the change that was wrought in our lives with that one phone call.  So, we celebrated our love for each other today - as we do every day - with thankfulness to God for bringing us together & sustaining our love.  It was a special day!  Michael came home from work this morning, pink tulips, a gift, & Turtles in hand.  He also came bearing breakfast, knowing I would be hungry!  Of course, having worked all night, he had to take a nap before our day of romance could commence.  Once he was somewhat rested, we headed up to Joe's Italian Restaurant for our hot date.  It was quite a drive, but the company was superb & the dinner & dessert that greeted us at the end of our journey was totally worth it!  The restaurant was so sweetly decorated with Valentine's Day garlands & floating balloons.  The food was beyond wonderful & the service was excellent.  We had the best time!  We finished off our date with a trip to . . . can you guess where?  Costco!  The parking lot was practically empty - something I've never seen before - & we joked that he's the only husband dragging his wife to Costco on Valentine's Day!  ;-)  That's okay; it made him happy, & Jakey-Baby got some awesome toys out of the deal!

It's hard to fathom the wondrous changes that have taken place in my life since that fateful Valentine's Day four years ago.  God has been so gracious to me & has blessed me so richly!  Happy Valentine's Day to you all!  And to Michael - I love you, my darling!

Our Fairy Tale

Today's story is a fairy tale. Not one of those fairy tales filled with talking animals, singing godmothers with magic wands, & "happily ever after" endings - although I have to say that I do enjoy those. This is more of a modern fairy tale that includes an online dating service, emails, & cell phones. But just like the old-fashioned kind, it, too, has romance & sheer joy. It, too, leads the man & woman through difficult trials. But this fairy tale wasn't orchestrated by a sweet, though absentminded, fairy godmother. No, this fairy tale is orchestrated by God.

Every story has a beginning. Fairy tales typically begin with the famous words "once upon a time" & plop you right down in the middle of someone's life. This one, however, has no real beginning. Because God has no beginning. And before time began, before the world was created by Him, He planned this story. He planned for the man & woman to meet, fall in love, & get married. But it doesn't start with them, not really. In order for these things to come about, He had to plan for their parents, their grandparents, their great-grandparents, & so-on & so-forth - to meet, fall in love, & get married. Take just a moment & think about all of the little details that had to line up just so in order for these two people to even be born, let alone meet & fall in love! It boggles the mind! But, of course, that's why He's God & we're not.

As creatures, our lives are full of beginnings & endings, though, so this story has to start somewhere. So. . .Once upon a time, there was a young woman who wanted to be married. She had grown up loving the Disney fairy tales where some handsome young prince sweeps the beautiful princess off her feet & carries her away from all of her troubles to live happily ever after. As she got older, she graduated from these cutesy stories to more grown-up "chick flicks" where, again, some handsome fella & beautiful girl overcome some sort of difficulty & end up falling in love & living happily ever after. These stories always filled her with longing & a question of whether anyone would ever love her that way. Eventually, she realized that the answer was "no". No man would ever love her like that for one main reason - it wasn't real. She finally understood that what she was in love with was the idea of love, but she had no knowledge of what real love was like. She aimed to find out, though, & began reading books that would help her understand how to really love. (She highly recommends the Bible for this.) Even so, even though she wanted to marry & even prayed for the man whom God might bring to her, she finally came to have faith that if God allowed her to remain single, she had Him & He was enough.

Meanwhile, in a land somewhat far away, there was a young man who dreamed of falling in love & getting married as well. He, like her, watched as those around him married & began families. He wanted this for himself, but was beginning to believe that it would never happen. He loved to spend time with his sister & her family, especially his nieces & nephew. Few things - if any - made him happier than playing with & doting on them. This made him want to be a husband & father even more. So, when his sister & brother-in-law (who also wanted him happily married) suggested that he join eHarmony, he hesitantly agreed. Little did he know that God was working out His plan & his life would soon be forever changed.

At about this time, our young lady was nearing the end of her own eHarmony subscription & was debating about whether to continue after having sifted through several self-described "godly" men who were somewhat lacking. Then, one day in early February, she was matched with this new fella. His picture showed him with his two nieces, which was promising. They flew through the communication process & graduated to private emails very quickly. Then came his first phone call to her - on Valentine's Day. In only a couple of weeks, she knew that she wanted to marry him. Her mother's reaction to this news was understandably cautionary: "You need to slow down." Her young niece showed her displeasure by covering her ears with her hands, shaking her head back & forth, & repeatedly declaring, "I don't wanna talk about it!" Even so, everything was falling into place just as God had planned. They knew the first day they met in person that their feelings were mutual & he asked her parents' permission to marry her. After having met him, they heartily agreed - complete with a "bear hug" from her dad & tears from her mom. A mere three & a half months later, she walked barefoot down the aisle to meet her groom in a beautifully simple ceremony in her parents' backyard.

Three years ago today, I married the man of my dreams & prayers. God has blessed me richly with a godly man who leads our family in pursuing the Lover of our souls. We have struggles just like any other couple; no marriage is perfect because every marriage is between two sinners. Yet, we have a beautiful & joyful marriage because Christ is our foundation. We both look to Him to sanctify us. I've learned that marriage is work, but not because I'm working to change my husband. Marriage is work because I'm working to change myself. Of course, I can't speak for Michael, but for me, I constantly need God's help to hold my tongue, to be submissive, to be slow to anger, to be selfless, & to forgive. And then, when I blow it, I run to Him for forgiveness & restoration, which He freely gives. This is what makes a marriage that is refined - rather than consumed - in the fires of life. God planned this marriage. God brought this marriage into being. God is transforming this marriage day by day so that we bring Him glory through it. And that is the worthy goal of every Christian marriage!
 

Happy Anniversary, my darling! I am honored to be your wife, & I love you more than words can say!

*Our most gracious heavenly Father, thank You for our marriage. Thank You for blessing me with Michael. He is a godly example to me, & I love him dearly. Please help me to be a godly wife to him - to be loving, kind, humble, submissive, patient, & selfless - to be his helpmeet as You've created me to be. Please give him the wisdom & strength to lead our family in righteousness. Please forgive us both - & please help us to forgive each other - when we fail. Help us to love each other more every day, but protect us from making each other & our love into idols. Help us to love You supremely so that we can love each other better. Please use us & our marriage to point to Christ & the church & to glorify You. In Christ's holy name I pray, Amen.