One Beautiful Life

A Valentine Note:

"Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless." Ephesians 5: 25-27~

My husband loves me. It's not a feeling... it's a verb... it's an action... it's a decision... and the feeling is the added bonus... the gift that follows. And to know my husband loves me, and to the be the recipient of that love is one of my greatest gifts.

Each year I am amazed at how God allows and gifts us with the blessing of our love

growing deeper and richer. It has and continues to just blow me away.

We are challenged, we endure, we obey, we grow, and we reap huge blessings from above.

This is one of my greatest gifts... ever.

The gift he gave to me this year was wonderful in many ways.

He blew me away with the gift of a Nikon D-60 camera. This is a camera I have had my eye on for a while and almost bought on a Day after Thanksgiving sale... but didn't... even though it was $100 off!

Now I know why I didn't... why I felt it was not the right time... I would have taken away this wonderful opportunity and moment that God had planned for me through my husband.

Our weekend at the beach gave us a lot of time to talk about a lot of things. As I was playing with my camera (my Nikon that I love) I talked to him about wanting to pursue my passion for photography a little more since I now have time to pursue other creative passions. I was planning on using some of the money from the sale of my business to buy this new camera that's about three to four steps up from the one I have.

So this Valentine's Day he presented me with a "coupon/IOU" for the purchase of this camera.

My jaw dropped. Then the best part of his gift was given. "I wanted to give you something special today, something that you really wanted and are passionate about."

Now if this statement doesn't seem extraordinary... let me reveal the true gift behind it.

1.) My husband has been pursuing me... seeking my heart... listening to my heart... to my dreams and desires.

2.) He is encouraging me in something I love to do.

3.) He is being very generous and selfless by giving me a gift that is nowhere in our budget right now.

4.) He is whispering the love of Christ to me... not by "buying" me something... but by all of the above.

5.) He is leaving me feeling known, considered, appreciated, cherished, seen, heard, and LOVED.

All of that... in a sincere and precious statement from the heart that was better than the camera itself. THAT was and will always be my best Valentine's gift ever.

I love you Fly Boy! Thank you for loving me.