Tomorrow is a special day, Day 300 to be exact. On Saturday, for three hundred days I will have had the boundless privilege and joy of being married to Sheila. As part of my celebration I thought I’d publish this post so I might share my happiness with all of you who love her, too…

May 12, 2012

My Beloved Sheila,

For the past three hundred days I have had the incredible pleasure of enjoying you as my wife and loving you as your husband. Truth be told, reality has vastly exceeded my early imaginings of how our life together might be! Wow! You are an amazing woman, Sheil, my earthly longings end, a life partner constantly expressing the mercy, grace, and love of God to me and I thank Him daily.

I love your lioness’ heart, your passion for pursuing God and our following hard after Jesus together! Our union has meant three hundred days of near constant change as the two of us were forged into one. At the same time, you saw dramatic changes in the lives of your three sons with all of them now planning on living in Utah. The empty nest hitting home hard! Through it all, I marvel at the strength of your will, your determination to love well and with abandonment.

Then there is our heart-child, Longings End, and all that God has authored in our mind for it to become. A dream not for the faint of heart. A vision rising from the ashes of desires nearly extinguished by heartaches along life’s way. A place of healing for ourselves and others where our shared calling might be realized to the glory of God…

We find ourselves in the midst of a real-life love affair, my darling, our love deepening with each passing day. Where mistakes of the past are overshadowed by the drenching love of a Father whose richness of grace redeems everything…

…because of Jesus.

All glory and honor and praise be ever flowing from our hearts, lips, and limbs to the One whose name is above all other names! The God who came for us and whose Spirit provides the sweetest fellowship imaginable and is our very life!

Even now, in the decade of our fifties, we continue growing up into Christ. Together we have matured in so many areas of life! Your constant encouragement has been a soothing balm to my soul and every part of my being yearns to provide and care for you in every way.

Our marriage is a grand adventure! An adventure that will take us all the way home to the God from whom we came.

I love you, Sheila. I smile with every thought of you…

Yours alone and always,

Michael