Monday, January 02, 2012

Thirty

As of today, I am married to an old man.

He has more forehead than he did in high school. When I cut his hair, I notice the graying at his temples. I find both of these characteristics to be improvements. Oh yes, 30 looks good on my handsome husband. Like a fine wine, he just keeps getting better with age :)

Funny how, with my husband hitting this milestone and my turn being right around the corner, 30 doesn't actually seem old to me anymore. In fact, given that I have friends in their 40s, 40 doesn't seem old to me anymore, either! It just feels like we are officially leaving the "young adult" stage of our 20s behind--and I welcome the shift.

As we celebrate Steve's birthday, I'm reminded of a quote I read recently in Tim Keller's fantastic book The Meaning of Marriage:
"Kathy and I have a picture of us on our wedding day on our bedroom wall. It is now thirty-seven years old. Physically, we looked a lot better then. I had hair, and, shall we say, we were a lot sleeker. When I've done weddings and I look at the bride and groom standing there looking fabulous in their finery, I've often been tempted to quip, 'You look terrific, but it's all downhill from here. You'll never look this good again.'
"But that's not ultimately true, not if you and your spouse wield the power of truth and love with grace in each other's lives. Not if you are committed to the adventure of spiritual companionship, to partner with God in the journey to the new creation. Then, to the eye of God, as the years go by, you are making each other more and more beautiful, like a diamond being cut and polished and set." (p. 169)
"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our slight momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)
Today I am thanking God for the priceless, astounding gift of my husband, born 30 years ago today. I'm thankful that I find him even more attractive today than I did when we first started dating. I'm thankful for the "adventure of spiritual companionship" with this wonderful man. I'm thankful for the ways he patiently participates in God's work of making me more beautiful--and I'm thankful to be used by God in polishing and refining him to be even more wonderful.

Happy birthday, Steve! Here's to many, many more.

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