Our eighth wedding anniversary is coming up in eleven days. Being away from A for the week (while the kiddinkies and I visited my parents, see previous post) reinforced for me the one-flesh concept.

(In this photo, we are ringing the church bell to let the whole world know!)When we got married, we wrote our own vows. Mine were:
I, Rachel, choose you, Aaron, to be my husband.
I give myself wholly to you and I receive you fully into my life.
I will love and cherish you every day I am alive.
I will live in grace toward you in all circumstances.
I will honor you in word and deed, when we are alone and before others.
I will uphold you by my full and contributing partnership with you, and by submitting to you out of reverence for Christ.
I will comfort and encourage you in difficult times.
And, I will celebrate with you in times of joy.
I will live with you in such a way that, with the help and grace of God, we may glorify Him more together than we could alone.
This is the covenant I make with you today and for as long as we both shall live.

This week away from A, I realized how true the second to last sentence is becoming. Somehow, as we devote ourselves to one another year after year, day after day, we're becoming one flesh, better together than alone.

A friend of mine saw A at a dinner party while I was gone. She said he looked lost without me. Boy, was I feeling lost without him. It's not that I can't function on my own. Nor that I do things very differently when we're apart. But, when we're together, it's something extraordinary. I'm just better when he's around. I'm more myself. And more like him. It's like I feed off of his goodness. His character suppliments mine, making me better. I'm so secure in his love for me, I'm free to be better than I am on my own.
And, isn't it like that with God? Just being in His presence makes me better than I am without Him. Looking into His eyes gives me strength. Being with Him is extraordinary. And, His character somehow rubs off on me and makes me better than I am without Him.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Jesus, for giving me a man who surpasses every dream I had for a husband (except the tall part, but being the same height is better than I'd guessed!). I love how you reveal yourself to me through him in sometimes surprising ways. I love him and I love you more and more and more!