Day 2,921

The Eighth Year of I Do

Eight years later and it’s honestly never ever been better. Ever. I say it each year and it remains true even still: I feel like a newlywed. The bliss hasn’t faded. The newness hasn’t worn. The butterflies haven’t left. Our bond is far deeper. Our friendship far truer. Our love far greater. Now, we might be a tad more tired than we were in those early days, but with the maturing of our marriage due to the maturing of our faith, we’ve come to a very clear and real understanding that we are capable of so much more life than we’ve ever known. It just takes work. Hard work. Long work. Intentional work. Faithful work. 

And so, we put the work in. And we don’t stop. And it’s good. It’s really good. And it’s good becuase Adam serves and loves a gracious God who gave us marriage to enjoy in its proper context. And not only did He give us marriage, He gave us the “blueprints” to enjoying a healthy, holy, loving and purposeful marriage. And I’ll say this boldly: our marriage is strong and beautiful and sweet and enduring becuase we love the One who made it. And our delight is first in Him...and His word. 

I’m grateful beyond measure for the man that stands alongside me day in and day out. I love being the helper to him that God created me to be and I love serving him in all the ways I know how. He makes it such a joy to be his wife. And so easy. 

And so, to celebrate our special day, we did something we’ve never done in the eight years we’ve lived in Florida. For a brief backstory: I always “give” the traditional wedding gift each year to Adam. And by “give,” I mean “do.” For example, the traditional gift for year two is “cotton.”  So, I took Adam parasailing in the “cotton clouds.” Year three is leather - we went horseback riding on leather saddles in the ocean. Stuff like that. Year Eight is the traditional gift of Bronze. Hmmmm. Well, it was a hard one, but I ended up discovering that the hardware on most boats - and more parts, I just don’t have specifics - is made out of bronze because bronze doesn’t rust!

And so, we went out on the ocean on a chartered boat for the first time ever yesterday and LOVED IT. We did lots of fishing - catching and releasing - and truly just enjoyed each other and our kids so much. 

Happy eighth anniversary, Adam. I am so thankful. And God is so kind. And you. You are incredible, Babe. Just incredible. 

I love you.