Valentine’s Day
February 14th, 2009
Happy Valentine’s Day! After 12 years of marriage, I can say with great certainty that I love and respect my husband Joel even more today than when I married him at the juvenile age of 20.
Here are a few reasons I love my husband:
1. Have you seen him? I mean, come on. I certainly don’t want to put too much emphasis on appearance, but in his mid-30’s, he still gets glances from teenage girls when he walks by. Yes, I notice. And no, I can’t blame them.
2. HE never notices when the girls look his way. Humility has never been one of my strongest attributes. I am constantly amazed at his ability to downplay a success or pass credit to someone else. I have so much to learn!
3. We’ve grown up together, in so many ways. I can remember our first date when I casually quipped, “I know your type!” I have probably never been more wrong in all my life. I was basing my judgment on his confidence. Little did I know that he was nothing like the cocky guy I expected.
4. Romance My husband sent me flowers every week (yes, literally EVERY week) during our 8-month engagement. The ladies at my work would tell me “Enjoy it while it lasts.” 12 years later, I’m happy to say that it lasted. I don’t get flowers every week (one look at his credit card statements once we were married but an end to that) but he still surprises me with flowers, gifts, notes and weekend getaways (note the picture above from a trip to NYC in the fall).
5. The “Metro” factor My husband is a perfect balance between metro and macho. At any given moment, he would have a difficult time deciding between a trip to the spa and a trip to watch a UFC fight.
6. The “Daddy” factor No matter how good-looking or romantic a man is, I know many women will agree with me that nothing is as attractive as a man that loves his children. I hear him talking to our baby as he rocks her at night and know that my girls will grow up knowing exactly what kind of man they should marry.
7. Spiritual leadership OK – maybe just one thing is more attractive than loving his children, and that is loving the Lord. I watch my husband take late night calls from college students in his college ministry or those in his small group. I see him reading, studying and seeking wisdom. I know he loves God way more than he loves me, and I couldn’t be happier!
8. Priorities Never in a million years would we have guessed 12 years ago that we’d be living where we live or doing what we do, but our priorities have always remained the same. We’ve been through some really tough things but keeping focus on what is important has been and will always be our anchor.
