December 24, 2012

On Christmas Eve



My Dearest,

Twenty four years have passed since you knelt in front of a fireplace in your living room. You officially asked me to marry you. There was no doubt what I would say was there?

Exactly three years later you made me laugh so hard my water broke. Two days later, our first daughter arrived. We all held our breath as she let out the tiniest cry. Prayers filled the chaotic hospital room as we hoped for better color to fill her blueish face. I'll always remember waking up in the middle of the night, there you were holding our pink swaddled treasure as you rocked slowly next to her isolette.

Christmas Eves continue to hold sweet beauty for us.

I love a good candlelight service. Tonight was especially sweet. You sat with the children as I read the Christmas Story. That's usually Pastor Tim's job but when they asked for one of us to do it, you trusted me. You knew the joy it would bring for me to read the passage in Luke that we have read in front of our own tree for so many years.

Tomorrow morning we will open up my burgundy bible with the broken binding to once again remember who we are celebrating. This is the tradition my parents passed down to us. We will offer thanks for the gift of life, of family and the peace only He can bring.

Tonight I offer thanks for you.
For your boldness to ask me to marry you when we had dated for such a short time, because you trusted that this was what we were suppose to do. You were so very right.
It is you I want to celebrate everyday with and never be without.
Jesus makes Christmas real, you add the magic.

Twenty four years and I never expected to love you more now than I did on that beautiful night. There have been twenty four years worth of things I didn't expect and I look forward to so many more.

Merry Christmas to you and a very, beautiful, happy New Year!

Always,

Hope

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