Happy 1st Anniversary!

Wow, how is it possible that Jade and I have been married a whole year! It seems like it wasn't too long ago that we were still planning everything out and having wedding parties! Although this year has gone by so fast, it has been the greatest year of my life, without a doubt. Getting married to my best friend was the greatest decision I have ever made, second to salvation.

For Jade and I, marriage is something so sacred. The best way to describe it-- and it might sounds completely crazy-- is that marriage to me is kind of like that Holiday Barbie that I would get every year for Christmas. Yes, I am fixing to relate my marriage to a Barbie. Bare with me, this is a good illustration, I promise!

Every year for Christmas, my mom or my grandparents would buy me the Holiday Barbie. This was the Barbie that was released every year that was like the prettiest and most formal doll of the entire year. It would come in this huge, fancy box and it was just beautiful. Beautiful as a Barbie can get! I would unwrap it Christmas Eve or Christmas day, get a good look at it and then it would be put up. My mom would never let me open and get it out because it was so important. She would take it and put it in the safest place-- top of the closet, where I couldn't reach it, try to open it and mess her up. It wasn't the Barbie that I played with on a daily basis or let people come over and play with. It wasn't the Barbie that I cut her hair or brush out the curls or played with outside. It wasn't the barbie that I got dirty, this was the HOLIDAY BARBIE!

Marriage to me is that Barbie. It is something that is beautiful, beautiful because it is a clear illustration of how Christ loves and cares for His bride-- the Church. It is something that is so important that I look at it in awe and am still amazed by it. It is something that I keep in a safe place and I don't let other come in to mess with it or play with it. This is a relationship between Jade and I, centered around Christ-- no one else is invited! It is something that I don't try to change or make it what I want it to be-- God created it, I'm going to stay with how he intended it to be. It is something I protect and guard from the influences of the World. There is some crazy things that happen in our world-- our society more specifically. I refuse to allow my marriage to be shaken by the destruction and the devastation that this World is filled with. After all, this is marriage we are talking about!

For Jade and I, marriage is not only sacred but also so serious. We know that the sole reason marriage was ever created in the first place was to bring glory and honor back to the one who created it. So why would we do anything but take that serious?

As I reflect back on the past year, my heart is filled--full to the rim, overflowing, with thankfulness.

I'm thankful for Jesus.

I'm thankful for the cross and the ultimate sacrifice that was made.

I'm thankful for the redeeming love that Jesus pours out on me, undeservedly.

I'm thankful for the first wedding ever, in the Garden of Eden.

I'm thankful for Jade.

I'm thankful that just as Jesus loves the church, Jade loves me.

I'm thankful for the importance of a Christ-center marriage.

I'm thankful for the examples of those types of marriages in our lives.

I'm thankful for the Holy Spirit.

I'm thankful that He beats up our hearts for the things that break Jesus's.

I'm thankful for all the prayers that Jade and I are covered in, daily.

I'm thankful for the desire in our hearts to bring glory to Jesus.

I'm thankful for the sacrifices that Jade has made for us.

I'm thankful for rough times, that have strengthened our love.

I'm thankful for all the advice and support we have gotten over the last year.

I'm thankful for God allowing me to love so deeply.

I'm thankful for His Word and the food it feeds our marriage.

I'm so thankful for my marriage.

I am married to the most caring, compassionate, loving man and I get to be his wife for the rest of our lives here on Earth. How incredible is that! I will never understand why God chose me to live out this life but I can't wait to sit as His feet and thank Him in His presence one day. I do not deserve this life and yet, He, the Creator of all things, the precious Lamb and the mighty Savior of us all, gave it to me anyways. He is so good y'all!

I say all of that to say...

Happy Anniversary to the man of my dreams and my best friend! You have made me the happiest girl in the whole world and I love you more than you will ever know! I could not imagine what life would be like without you beside me. Thank you for loving me and being a Godly husband to me over the past year. I cannot wait to celebrate this special day with you for the rest of our lives!

One year down, a lifetime to go!