It was a windy and warm day 9 years ago that Kristen and I got married. We seemed old enough, so mature, and so ready to handle anything that came our way.
I guess we weren’t wrong. It was the right time with the right person and the last 9 years have been fantastic.
So many people talk about the "difficulties of marriage" and I can only nod my head to try to empathize because I’ve really never felt marriage to Kristen has ever been difficult. It’s just been joy.
Highlights? How do you narrow down 9 years to a highlight real? Things that jump out immediately about Kristen are her sense of adventure. One of us will come up with a crazy idea and she’ll be the one saying, "Come on, let’s do it!" I like that about Kristen.
Kristen always suprises me with the impractical. Maybe that’s her sense of adventure. But every couple of weeks Kristen will have this perfectly impractical idea we should chase after. Maybe it’s driving 60 miles to go out to eat "just because I read a good review." Maybe buying a massive piece of furniture for our first apartment that measured less than 600 square feet. The list goes on and on. I like that about my wife.
Kristen is brave. Over the years I think I’ve made some wild decisions. We’ve lived some weird places. We’ve gone on some crazy trips. We’ve quit our "safe jobs" and jumped into working for churches. We’ve moved 3000 miles to California and bravely admitted our mistake, just to move further east than we started one year later. I remember driving from Chicago to the Upper Penisula of Michigan and Kristen talked the whole way about "I hope we see a bear." While she was brave, I was terrified that we’d see a bear!
Of course, five years ago Kristen stopped being just my wife and became a mom. I am sure that she probably defines herself more as mommy now than as Adam’s wife… but I really just think of her as my wife. I adore the way the children flock to her after church. I can’t wait to come home and see what type of adventure she’s gotten Megan and Paul into while I was at work. I have no idea how she’s managed to hold down the fort while I’m off doing "something for God." While we both foundly remember those pre-kid years as "the single life" I can’t imagine making a better decision than choosing to have kids. In fact, let’s look back at a journal entry from November 13, 2000 so we can all enjoy what was going through my mind.
So, now I am a daddy in waiting. There are
thousands of questions floating through my mind that will take the next several
months to sort out. Right now you are barely 4 inches long in mom’s tummy. She
is just starting to show that she is pregnant. All the morning sickness has
gone away and she is starting to act like my wife again. Will she ever be the
same carefree girl that I met back at Moody? I’ll just have to wait to find
out. Yet mostly I am anxious to meet you. If you didn’t know, we have been
talking a lot about you while you grow in there. Are you a girl or a boy? Are
you healthy? What’s it like to swim around in there? Can you hear us? Who will
you look like? What color eyes will you have? Will you have curly brown hair
like mom? Will you be as stubborn as mom or as sensible as me? How will we take
care of you? I guess I’ll just have to suffer and wait. There are bigger
questions too. Like, will you want to follow the Lord Jesus when you grow up?
Will you be incredibly smart and charming like your parents? Will you play
sports or sing in the choir or play an instrument or WHAT? But the most
important thing is first. Mom and I want to raise you to be a lover of God. We
would love to pass along our love for God to you, but it is ultimately your
decision to make. Well, like you can tell, I have a lot of things going on in my
mind. But as I sit in the Moody library and type all the incessant questions I
am comforted by God’s Spirit. Everything
is going to be just fine? You are going to be perfect.
Nine years ago was the best day of my life. As we’ve joked, nine years and no one has killed anyone, must be pretty good.
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