Dear Husband...

One day we will get old. It's inevitable. But no matter how stiff or wrinkly we get, I will always wake up each day with a smile knowing that I'm next to you. 'Cause guess what? Love never fails (I Cor. 13:8). I pray that when we're older, we will still be as happy and as joyful as these two.

Yours Forever,
Bethany

Easier Said Than Done

In todays world, most people tend to have a very temporary mindset. When they get a soda in a paper cup from McDonalds, they don't plan to go home and wash it to re-use later. They get it with the mindset that they'll throw it away when they're finished with it. Technology is always being updated and the old replaced with newer, shinier, smaller, better, and faster. And sometimes, this even carries over to people. Why do so many marriages end in divorce? Granted, not every divorce is the result of the partners "growing apart," or "falling out of love," but too many of them are. Whatever happened to "til death do us part" and "happily ever after"?

Recently I've been reading Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis and I came across a chapter called "Christian Marriage" that speaks on this topic. There are several excellent quotes in the book, but one in particular that caught my eye was one that said, "The promise made when I am in love and because I am in love, to be true to the beloved as long as I live, commits me to being true even when I cease to be in love" (107). I'm not speaking from experience, but simple from what God desires. No one is perfect. There will be times of annoyance, anger, and frustration. There may even come a time when you feel like you are no longer in love. But, "...ceasing to be "in love" need not mean ceasing to love"(109). Continue to love like Christ no matter what. Easier said than done, I know. But remember: Christ did not leave you at the first sign of hardship. He demonstrated the ultimate sacrifice by dying for you. He didn't go to the cross smiling and happy. I'm sure that he did not "feel" like dying or "feel" like being beaten. How much more should we sacrifice and continue to love, despite our feelings?

When God says, "Oh tut, tut."

If anyone reads my facebook statuses enough, they will know that I like quotes. I recently stumbled over a quote by Maya Angelou, the author of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, that said, "A woman's heart should be so hidden in God that a man has to seek Him just to find her." For some reason this just struck home with me. I tend to have the problem of pursuing guys instead of letting them pursue me. I get all these ideas of what a relationship should look like and let my thoughts carry me away. Instead of doing this, I need to be seeking after God. Sometimes I feel like God looks at me and just says, "Martha, martha. You are worried about many things" (Luke 10:41). I get so wrapped up in my own little world and my own little ideas that I forget that he's got me! He holds me in the palm of my hand... why would I be concerned about anything? Compared to the God who created the universe with words, who breathed and life came into existence, and who came back from the dead, my worries about not finding a husband are insulting. He looks at me and says, "Really? Really? You don't think I can take that after parting the Red Sea (Ex. 14) and making a pile of bones into a freaking Irobot army(Ezekiel 37)? Oh tut, tut. Have a little faith." And that's exactly what I need. I want to pursue God. That's it. I don't want to get wrapped up in everything else, I just want him.

To Whom It May Concern - Civil Wars

To my husband:



Love,
Bethany

Dear Hubby...

I wish that you were here with me right now and I can't wait to meet you. I can't wait to share my life with you and be a part of yours. I pray that God is lovin' on you right now and wherever you are you feel his comfort and his peace.

Love,
Bethany

Dear Husband,

I have always prayed for you ever since I was a small girl. I don't know what you'll look like, where I'll meet you, or who you are but I've always prayed for several very specific things for you:

1. That every day you will grow closer to God. No matter where you live or what opposition you are surrounded by, I have prayed that you will be filled with an overwhelming passion for God and for following him.

2. That God would be aligning our hearts with the same passions. For some time I have known that God is calling me to be a missionary. I cannot even consider dating someone much less marrying them if they do not share that same passion! I am asking God to fill your heart with that same calling and desire, wherever you may be.

3. That wherever you are, God would protect you and surround you with his angels. That no matter what you are doing, right now you would feel his peace and his love.

4. That you would grow to become a man of trust and honor - but if you are as close to God's heart as I pray that you are and will become I know that he will give you the strength to stand up for his values even in a world that screams against everything he stands for.

Is it strange to write a letter to your future husband? Not really. God prepared Ruth, Esther and Mary ahead of time to marry men that they didn't know. If they could have, I'm sure they would have written him a letter asking God to be working in his heart.