When it comes to matters of the heart, love and marriage specifically, I have shared a lot with you this month. I have been honest and vulnerable about the struggles that can be found within the confines of marriage. I have been able to use my marriage as a testimony as a way to shine the glory of grace and the redemptive power of Christ’s love.

Now, on this Valentine’s eve, I am going to spend a little bit of time talking about the beauty that is marriage…more specifically, the joy that is my own Valentine – my husband.  

This guy, my guy. There aren’t enough adequate words to describe him and just what he means to me…and I am not often left without words. Although, I did try once to make a list of “all the ways and reasons” of why I love him. It was a Valentine’s gift given in 2011- 52 heart-shaped cutouts, each one revealing a testament of my love.

I think now of how I could add to the pile from the various memories over the last 5 years. I could add things like:

I love that my favorite date was the one where all we could afford was a $10 meal at Taco Bueno…because we were just happy to be together.

I love that with the last two pregnancies – the first thing you did was smile when I announced them to you, immediately easing my panic-stricken fears.

I love how you build my confidence in my job as a stay-at-home mom, because my insecurities sometimes want to take-over.

Yes, there are so many reasons and ways in which the pile of hearts could grow and grow. And even still…there are specific ways that draw my heart closer to his. There are ways that we are growing in and as we do, I am discovering new depths of love for my husband. Some of the things I might write down would be:

Watching you love God wholly and seek Him first brings a new level of intimacy to our marriage. 

Watching as you seek to become the leader in our home has brought about a deeper respect and love for you.

Watching you embrace grace and a call to holiness has blessed us with a new and fuller way to love each other. 

But really, there are not enough hearts I could cut out, not nearly enough to really express just how much I love this guy of mine. He seeks to selflessly serve his family and I am thankful for him. Because we first love a perfect God, we can accept each other in our imperfections and love each other through the grace of a God who loves fully and wholly.