This is the year that man held my hand and asked me to be his girlfriend. This is the year that man took me out to the movies, and dinner. This is the year that man asked me to help him study for his comprehensive exams, which he passed with distinction.
This is the year he asked me to marry him. BEST. YEAR. EVER. Right? No, it doesn't end there-- I've only gotten to February.
This is the year that man met my parents and my family, the year he got to see the land of Lincoln, where I come from. This is the year I got to meet his family in Deleware.
This is the year we got to plan a wedding, a Maronite Mystery of Crowning.
This is the year we bought a house! Our own little love nest.
This is the year I was accepted into a Master's in Social Work program, where I could enroll part-time with tuition remission.
This is the year we exchanged vows, in the company of our family and friends. The happiest day of my life, when I entrusted my life and my love to this man, who became my husband.
This is the year he took me to the most beautiful places on our honeymoon, when I got to ride shot gun with him through the winding mountain roads of Colorado.
This is the year I got to soak up all his love, as his wife. This is the year when I'd come home from work to dine with him at lunch and dinner. This is the year I'd try to clean and cook and do his laundry, when he was so good and gracious and did most of the work when I couldn't.
This is the year we got pregnant. This is the year my husband comforted me through the transition to motherhood, and then mourning. This is the year we became parents to our first child in heaven, Dominic.
This is the year I got a 4.0, and my husband was so proud of me.
This is the year I watched him prepare to teach his first class, and interact with his students, and I got to see what a wonderful professor he will be.
This is the year my husband showed me what it's like to have him as the leader of our family, as partner, as lover, and best friend.
This is the year that I became the happiest I have ever been in my whole entire life, because I am loved by him. And in this way, it teaches me something more about what it means to be loved by Him, the One I have to thank for all of this.
So thank you, dear Lord, for the best year of my life. I don't want this year to end. But if it's any indicator of what's yet to come, here's to many more!
God is love,
and he who abides in love
abides in God,
and God abides in him.
- 1 John 4:16
