Darling

I just had a thought. I was midway through a cracker and it was such a moving thought that I involuntarily stopped mid Ritz to contemplate it a little while longer.

And the thought was this: 

I have someone on whom I can lavish every bit of affection my little heart desires and this person not only enjoys it, but reciprocates! 

Even my dog gets wiggly when I try to snuggle with him too long. That's one thing that I count invaluable - that he never breaks away from a hug unless absolutely necessary, he's always willing to hold my hand and seeks it out at every opportunity, and for every sentence in a conversation he has twice as many "I love you"s. He truly loves me. He places my happiness above his own. He praises me far beyond what I consider really accurate.

I'm talking about Ta of course, but most of what I've said applies to God too. And I think I am right to commend my sweetheart for loving me with a love that mirrors the greater one. I consider often how I might improve myself to be more like the great women of the bible (a topic that Bro Philip Conley has been covering lately, much to my delight: http://coolspringspbc.org/audio-sermons/?series=41 ), to be a good wife eventually, to be valued far above rubies. But I forget that it goes both ways. There are things he needs to do too. And that is not to say that I should spend more time critiquing his actions and comparing him to the very highest standard; I should guide when need be and remind if necessary, but I should also praise him when he does well and lift his heart when he's feeling discouraged about it. 

He wants to take care of me. When we first talked about getting married his number one criteria for determining a timeline was that he would first have a steady job with which he could provide for us. On a slightly smaller scale maybe, any time I trip or cut myself on something or run into a large, stationary object that could have easily been avoided by anyone but me (as I so often do) he is right there, waaaay more concerned than he should be (at least I think so). 

He knows that we're partners in everything. Any time there is a decision to be made his first question is what I want. Choosing meal locations is a nightmare because I usually have no preference and he refuses to admit his own until I have. When he accepted the teaching position at Western Yell he called me, completely racked with guilt because he hadn't called me first - even though we had been talking about it for days during which I repeatedly told him I knew he was going to get it and I was so excited for him, and the call would have consisted of "what do you think? should I take it?" "well duh." 

He honors me. He treats me like a lady. He opens doors and pulls out chairs (even when he's on crutches and I feel like I'm taking advantage of an invalid). He doesn't ask me to do anything for him if he can do it himself. He is never intentionally condescending. He is respectful of my emotions and does his best to keep me happy, not just to keep himself out of trouble, but because he really wants me to always be happy.