If you’ve sat in our living room and looked out our bay window, you have most likely spotted them; 3 exquisitely unique sculptures that tell the story of “us”.
Meticulously crafted from chucks of black soapstone and serpentine, and gathered from 3 completely different places at different stages of our journey, these sculptures depict the progression of our lives.
A gift from my sister, the soapstone couple hailed from South Africa.
Because, after all…before there was anyone else in our little family picture…there was us.
Just you and me.
Our worlds collided on July 13th, 2002… sparks flew {eventually}…and we were forever imprinted on each other’s hearts when our lives were united in covenant 7 incredible years ago today.
What a glorious day. What a spectacular moment. What a stellar combination, you and I!
You are the greatest delight of my life, precious man, and I will always be your biggest fan.
You are my forever-crush. My stronghold. My safe place. My hero.
The way you love me, so fully and lavishly, so courageously and effectively, touches my heart in ways you may never fully grasp.
You keep me grounded and focused…and yet have the ability to motivate, inspire, and spur me on to bigger and brighter things. You are my greatest encourager.
You challenge me. You lovingly drag me, if need be, from the status quo I so easily settle into. Your raw, authentic faith reminds me of what really matters in this world, and shakes the pretense I tend to fall into. And then you faithfully lift my chin and remind me who’s I am.
Your ability to build, fix and cook…everything, floors me. How does one man contain the ingredients to master so many trades? What, besides concrete, do you not do exceptionally well? You even hunt down and arrest with finesse {or so I’m told, not actually being allowed to ride along with you (insert begrudging snort here)}. I have, however, seen you in uniform…and dang are you scrumptious!
You entertain and amuse me no end. The faces, the voices, the full-body-re-enactment…you. crack. me. up! Reciting movie lines, canning ourselves over our children’s unorthodox antics, and being {lightly} tackled by you feature quite highly on my list of favorite things to do. Laughter, alongside you, is my drug of choice. May the supply never end!
The fact that you’re sexy, and set my heart a flutter, is entirely a matter all it’s own! {blushing}
We rocked the childless years.
And then, 4 years ago, life as we knew it changed completely.
I will never forget – as I know you, too, never could – the magnificent 5 weeks we spend travelling across South Africa, getting to introduce you to my wonderful family, having our breath taken away by the ever-changing landscape, and finally landing in the heart of Namibia.
I think we only spent 3 hours apart during those 5 weeks, and we wouldn’t have had it any other way. We consumed more Milo, biltong & Aero than any normal person should in that amount of time. We played with lion cubs, slept in a tent in the middle of a storm in the Pilanesberg, and watched an incredible amount of astonishingly beautiful African sunsets. And then we jumped off a bridge.
You, my babe, are truly my best friend.
I think we both agree…our favorite purchase was a serpentine sculpture we picked up in Swakopmund, representing what we hoped our family would resemble {in number, not appearance – although those ears are pretty sweet!} in the near future {we hoped}. We planned on displaying it upon discovering our first bun’s existence in the proverbial oven.
Little did we know…she had started brewing that very week!
And what a delight she is! Seeing you father her, love her, discipline her, teach her…just makes me fall in love with you all over again.
And boy, does that girl love her daddy!
2 years later our little man arrived, our fighter.
His love for all things loud, greasy, dirty and dangerous just confirm that God knew what He was doing: you needed a son, and dude…he’s like a little you {bar the drooling and shrieking, of course}.
I simply adore our little family of 4!
We acquired this beautiful expression of this season of our lives on Martha’s Vineyard. Decidedly less wild of a location, yes, but crafted in Kenya none the less. It was perfect for our collection.
And that, so far {and in a relatively miniscule nut shell}, is the story of us.
There is so much more, I know. So much my heart longs to say, and yet so few words that manage to describe the depth of my love and admiration for you, and my gratitude for the opportunity to parent alongside you. Yes, I know, I could buy a thesaurus. But even then…where would I start?
Our lives have been so richly laden with opportunities to grow {individually, and as a couple}, so loaded with divine provision and protection, and full to the brim with a love so extravagant and resilient that it’s Creator alone can be credited with the metamorphic effect it has had on us.
He indeed does have good plans for us…plans to prosper us and not to harm us, plans to give us a hope and a future {Jeremiah 29:11}. Amen!
In short: you are extraordinary, my love.
I love you even more today, so much more today, than I did the first time I stood before you as your wife, heart swollen with a love so childish and capricious, and yet a love I was certain couldn’t taste any sweeter. I’m so thankful I wasn’t right in my assumption. I treasure the beautifully intimate, profoundly resilient love we share today.
I eagerly anticipate the wild & wonderful {and no doubt at times, woolly} future God has in store for us and our precious little loin-fruit.
You rock my world.
