pieces and ponderings

Bryan D. is my main man, my husband, my best friend, my lover, my encourager, my helper, my leader, my soul mate.  He is a part of me and me of him…we are truly one.

In so many ways, he is my strength.  He challenges me by his undaunted devotion to his God, his wife and his family.  He encourages me to do things I never thought possible.  He listens to me well, even when I go on and on about the same subject again and again.  He doesn’t seem to get tired of me.  He’s always glad to see me and flashes a wide grin whenever we meet again after a time apart, no matter how short a time it’s been.  He knows me and that is an incredible gift…to have someone know you inside and out, sometimes better than I know myself.

He speaks truth into my life, into my heart, and into my head.  I can get so caught up in thoughts  that are  not true,  and Bryan D. calmly reminds me of that which is true and helps me recognize the irrational feelings and misperceptions and fears in my head.  He tells me that I’m his ministry, his calling; that God gave me to him to take care of…and he does that very well.  One of his goals in life is to celebrate our 75^th wedding anniversary.  Now how long we live is pretty much out of our control, but it melts me like butter on warm toast to hear him say that…he wants to be around me for that long…that’s incredible.

We’ve grown up together, not that we knew each other as children.  I met Bryan Darling when I was 19 and he was 21.  But we’ve been growing together since our first meeting; we’ve done most of our living on this planet together.  We’ve been given a family together.  We’ve faced hardships together.  We’ve celebrated much joy together.  We have failed together and we’ve succeeded together.

My relationship with Bryan D. is what I dreamed of when I was a little girl, though I could never have put words to my dreams.  I remember when I was 14 hoping that when I was grown and married many years, that my husband would still want to hold my hand…and Bryan D. is the most marvelous hand-holder.  He is a gift from God and he is mine and I am his and I am blessed for that.