10 months

A little while ago, I dropped off my husband in a Kroger parking lot. He got onto a big, decked-out tour bus with eight other guys... eight other guys who also are married - a few whose wives were there with me in that parking lot, sending our guys off into the night like superheroes.

And as always happens when I am driving back home afterwards without him, tonight I found myself processing all that is our life, and all the blessings I have been given, in the person of Tim O'Neill. Many of you didn't get a chance to know him well, much less meet him - because we met, dated, got engaged, and got married in the short space of  6 months... and then I moved to Franklin ;) But as of today, we've been married 10, and for a large portion of this day my mind has been blown at the magnitude of how much love can grow - immeasurably - within such a measurable time.

This time, it's for six days. Sometimes he's gone for only two... sometimes he's gone for two weeks. The goodbyes are frequent, and I definitely will not lie and say that the the time apart is ever easy - but I am grateful to a God who knows me well. I am grateful for the frequent, yet unique situations like those car rides home after watching Tim board that plane, or get onto that bus, that are teaching me how to cherish. 

The Lord alone knows what will speak best to us and resonate fullest in our hearts... He deals with us, our lives, our marriages in entirely unique and perfectly designed ways. Whether it's in time spent together or time spent apart... marriage is already teaching me the discipline of cherishing the moments I find myself in. For the days we have together - I am grateful. For the days I get to miss him... I am grateful, too.

- - -

To one of the hardest workers I have ever known;
For being straightforward and honest with me;
For choosing your words always carefully;
For teaching me how to laugh at myself, and
for reveling in the silly moments of life with me;
For holding my hands on walks, and
for walking beside me into crowded rooms of (scary) people;
For standing up for what is right, and
for keeping our home full with friends who do the same;

For loving me while I read my books and drink my coffee,
For speaking healing into my insecurities,
For trying to understand me when I'm not understandable,
For having a sense of humor about my sensitivities,
and for always fighting for the good you find in me...

I love you, Tim O'Neill.