Once upon a time, a little girl dreamed about catching the eye of a man who would love her forever. A man who would enfold her in his arms and keep her safe. A man who would be gentle and kind and rational and yet was also a wee bit loco in la cabeza when the situation called for it.
She wanted a man who loved the Lord. She wanted a man who would lead without being overbearing, who would not be afraid to fall on his knees when he was in over his head.
She wanted a man who was manly and yet could still shed a tear at a chick-flick once in a while. Who could read Louis Lamour in one hand and Francine Rivers in the other. Who knew how to whisper a sweet nothing.
She wanted a man who understood how it felt to have your heart handled roughly by those who were entrusted to keep it safe. She wanted someone who could sympathise when tears came for no apparent reason, and emotions were difficult to sort out.
She wanted a man who would be a good daddy. A man who would not mind having his hand ground into powder during long labors. Who could find time to play a game or read a book or just fall asleep with the gentle weight of a newborn on his chest.
She wanted a man who would get sexier as he got older. If he lost his hair or gained a few pounds, it would never detract from the twinkle in his eyes or the fact that he had a damn cute a**.
She carefully wrote down these qualifications in a notebook, and never failed to screen prospective suitors according to its requirements, hunting diligently until she found the man who fulfilled them all.
…………..
……………………………………….ahem.
Okay.
Let’s be real here.
To be truthful, the little girl in this tale had a bit of an addiction to male attention. She didn’t really screen the guys whose eyes she caught too carefully, so grateful she was that anybody with an overabundance of testosterone was looking her way with any amount of approval.
She made some grievous errors in judgement because of this rapacious need to be loved. She didn’t honestly know what she wanted, or what would be important qualities in a man. As long as he said I love you then that was enough.
She wasn’t too clever.
She wasn’t very deserving.
Yet the God of heaven held the list in His own competent hand…He knew exactly what the little girl needed, and for reasons she will never fathom, He sent a man to her. A man who was everything she never knew she wanted.
Even more unbelievably, the man loved her.
For 23 years, he’s been loving her. And doing a damn fine job of it.
:::blink:::
And the little girl has never been more grateful than she is today.
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!!! Love you two more than words can say! Have fun shoppin’ and stuff today.
Awwwww! Congrats!
Ah, congrats on 23 years. Very sweet post and love the pics.
I love this post. It makes me all teary! Happy Anniversary, Mommy and Daddy. I love you!!
You both definitely look better as you’ve aged! Happy Anniversary.
Congratulations!
So sweet and wonderful… Happy Anniversary to you both!
Another testament to the fact that God knows exactly what we need, even when we don’t. Happy anniversary!!!
Happy Anniversary you guys. Love you two very much.
And I have to agree.. Jim does have a very nice ass.
Happy Anniversary good friends!
And may the next 23 be sweeter, richer and deeper than the first 23…
This is my story, too – thank you for sharing. It’s so good to know that God works in spite of our past failings. How sweet! Also, I loved the line about grinding his hand into powder during long labors – we were just discussing that yesterday.
Oh.My.Word.I.Love.This.Post. You could have been writing about me. I am that girl. Massively bad decisions in choice of men through my life. Until one was sent to me…
Believe it or not, I’ve made that same list. Wrote down my dream list of what I wanted in a man and lost it in my Bible one year. Met my husband, found the paper a few years after we married and was shocked to see how closely he resembled everything there. The only exception was that I wrote “Hates spiders”. What I meant was “Protects me from spiders”. What I got was a man that hates spiders so much he screams like a girl when he sees them. So I have to be the spider killer in the house.
I’ve always considered it one of those things that God has a sense of humor about in my life.
Just read back through the other comments…
LOL@your little brother
You weere indeed blessed with an amazing man, but he was blessed with an incredible woman ~~ a perfect match!
Happy Anniversary, Jenni!
What a good looking couple. Congratulations!
We are so blessed to have a loving Father who gives us good gifts – especially when the good gift is a wonderful husband and loving marriage. Congratulations to you both!
What a great story–including a little suspense, some sorrow. But it sounds like the Author and Perfecter of your story saw to it that you got a hero something like Himself.
Happy anniversary!
Happy Anniversary! Congratulations, and thank you for sharing a true love story.
Awesome, awesome!
Happy 23rd anniversary! May you have 46 more years together!
Amazingly wonderful how things turn out…and how blessed we are with all your blessings!
Awww, so sweet!!! Belated Happy Anniversary!!! We will be celebrating our 23rd Anniversary on New Year’s Day & it really does feel like it’s been a blink of an eye at times.
Happy Avanursery! (As my toddlers all seem to pronounce it. Or maybe it’s just me. I don’t know. I lose track…)
ANYWAY…Kudos to you both.
Oh dear–I’m so belated. Happy Anniversary, anyway! You two are so cute!