I Love My Husband, God's Son

A magnificent marriage begins not with knowing one another but with knowing God.~ Gary Ricucci
Brian and I had the opportunity to attend a marriage conference over the weekend. It was a simulcast put on by Focus on the Family. There was a great speaker line-up including Beth Moore (my favorite encourager) and Gary Thomas. The conference wasn't a "how-to" type, it basically dealt with the heart of marriage. To say we were profoundly impacted by this conference would be an understatement. And just to prove it, Satan has been knocking at the door all week! (I often tell my family that Satan doesn't come knocking unless you are following God, because he is not going to make that effort when you are following him.)

I purchased a book by Gary Thomas called Sacred Marriage and it is convicting me to the core. Here are just a few statements made in the book that are knocking my socks off:
~The real purpose of marriage may not be happiness as much as it is holiness.
~If I really want to see God transform me from the inside out, I need to concentrate on changing myself not my spouse.
~Once we enter marriage, we cannot love God without loving our spouse as well.
~Your spouse may be difficult to love at times, but that's what marriage is for - to teach us how to love.

I could go on and on...I have almost every line in the book highlighted! Sometimes it is difficult to love Brian, I am sure he would say the same about me. Love is hard, marriage is hard...it's not like all those fairytales I read as a child. But I am striving to look at my marriage with different lenses. God has blessed me with His son, Brian Tuck. Brian was created in His image...how could you not love that! Brian is God-fearing, he works hard, he loves ME warts and all! He's my helpmate, my lover and my friend. I am blessed beyond measure. Help me Jesus to love you more so I can love him better!

Brian, if you're reading...I promise that I will fight for our marriage until the day I die. You are not the man that I got to be young with...but luckily...your the man I get to grow old with!