Tuesday, March 27, 2018

Year 7: Drawn Closer

Dear Jesus,

Thank you for this last year in my marriage.  Thank you that during a time when, statistically speaking, many couples experience a lull or dip in their marriage whether drawn from exhaustion, child-rearing, chaos, mismanaged funds, or unrealistic and un-aligned expectations, I feel closer than ever to my husband.

Thank you for drawing us into and through totally crazy and irresponsible life choices that only make sense to us because we know they are guided by you.  Thank you for a passion within our hearts to whole-heartedly and recklessly pursue your will for our lives.  Thank you that the ultimate goal we have is unabashed obedience to you.  Thank you for drawing us in.  Drawing us in to callings, unknowns, and drawing us out of comfort zones.  Thank you that through the growth and refining of each of us as individuals you have drawn us closer to each other and bonded us as one even more.  Thank you that each year the lines between Jake as an individual and me as an individual blur a little more and the wholeness of us as one shines brighter.  Thank you for giftings that individually are a force but aligned with you and each other are a tidal wave.

Thank you for the difficult moments, the difficult conversations, the difficult breathes, the difficult transitions and the difficult losses.  Thank you for meeting us in our weakness and allowing us the opportunity to be held by you while also holding each other.  Thank you for our ability to turn upward toward you and inward toward eachother.  Thank you for the unity we had at year one but have cultivated even further in you each year we celebrate.  

Thank you for speaking to us.  Thank you for speaking to both of us so we know that what we are doing is not of ourselves but of your will.  Thank you for joy and excitement amidst sadness and grief.  Thank you for loving us each so much individually that you gifted us the opportunity to be each other's here on earth.

Most of all, thank you for Jake.  Thank you for his heart.  Thank you for his strength.  Thank you for his leadership.  Thank you for his life.  Thank you for speaking into him and guiding him as he leads our family.  Thank you for the passion he has for serving you and the example he sets for our sons.  Thank you for his heart to reach others and lead a new generation of men toward you, toward honor, toward humility, toward serving, toward strength, toward genuineness and toward leadership through service.  Thank you that he is a man after your heart more and more each year. 

Lord, in a year where the enemy could have so easily tried to manipulate and abuse our hearts toward one another you were ever present and constantly protecting us.  You have refined us and aligned us in such powerful and incredible ways all while maintaining and increasing our passion for serving alongside each other and loving and leading our family toward your will. 

You are faithful.  I am so grateful.  Thank you for loving me so much that you gave me Jake to love and be loved by.  Thank you for the opportunity to do life with him these last seven years of marriage and the three years of dating before that.  I pray for so many more years together.

Use us.  We are yours.  Let your light shine through our love.  I pray you are honored and glorified.  Thank you for your presence in our lives, in our marriage and in our family.  May your love be more fully known as a result of our love for one another by our sons and others.  May we live our lives more to build your kingdom than our household. 

To you be the glory.  Amen.  


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