More Than I Asked For

Yesterday, Darin and I celebrated our 7th Anniversary. Seven years ago, I married a man that committed to love me and share his life with me. I married a man that promised to stay by my side through the good and the bad...the highs and the lows. A man that unmistakably loved and served the Lord, and a man that saw better in me than I was able to see in myself. I married the man that I knew would always encourage me to be better.

That man is one of greatest examples of God's love for me. I didn't, nor do I, deserve the gift of Darin's love and his commitment to me. God has created, molded and protected this gift He gave to us, 7 years ago. He knew in six years time, the fight to get to year seven...would be just that, a fight. I have never doubted that we would celebrate July 17, 2011...not because of anything Darin or I are capable of...but because we choose to live our lives knowing that God wants great and amazing things for us (Ephesians 3:20)!

Ephesians 3: 14-20

New International Version (NIV)

¹⁴ For this reason I kneel before the Father, ¹⁵ from whom every family^[a] in heaven and on earth derives its name. ¹⁶ I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, ¹⁷ so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, ¹⁸ may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, ¹⁹and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

²⁰ Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, ²¹ to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

I can't imagine my life without Darin. There is no one in this world that understands me better or 'gets' exactly what it's like to be on this journey. He is not the same man as he was when I married him. He is better! His core, foundation and principles are all the same...but he has allowed God to change him and equip him for the challenges of this life. I believe there is no better man than a man that is open and willing to change.

I am so thankful that our Lord "is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine", because 7 years ago, I would have never imagined asking for someone that could walk with me through a year like this last year. I would have never even thought to request a man that could help me raise a child with special needs...and that could approach it with such joy. It wouldn't have occurred to me to pray for a man with incredible patience and love for two precious children, that only the Lord could bestow. I have always hoped and prayed for a marriage that would sustain through all the years...but those hopes and prayers have never encompassed the level of intensity that they do today.

God created the beginnings of a truly incredible thing on July 17th, 2004. Had He given us the key to unlock 6 and 7 years down the road...I know we would have said "I can't imagine"! But thankfully, He keeps our future to Himself, so that we can choose to follow him one step at a time...one foot in front of the other. I am so thankful that He wants more for us than we could ever imagine. And I am so grateful that He has called us just to trust in Him, one day at a time...so that when it is time to walk through that door that He had planned for us all along...by faith, we are ready.

I love Darin for the man he is and is becoming, the commitment he made to me, and for the father he delights in being to the two most amazing kids in the world!

~Whitney