Mr. Fantastic and I sat in the low light of a lovely restaurant, with quiet words passing between us. A jazz band played somewhere around the corner, and at the other tables sat beautiful people, smiling, feasting, and celebrating who-knows-what.
The conversation turned from the the events of the day to the grander topic of our own lives, and to our marriage. My mind followed the trail of our married life, back along the path of pastoring in Austin, then our time in Nashville, through the early years in Austin with babies, all the way back to the beginning.
We have come a long way.
We began with a flimsy hope and promise to love one another forever.
But you can’t know God and stay the same. He isn’t just a person you meet and then catalog His characteristics.
God is like a fire in our bones, and knowing Him means becoming like Him.
Suddenly you find that you only really know yourself in the light of His way, His truth, His love, and His forgiveness. Selfish ways and empty thoughts just leave you feeling burnt up, and you run to Him again and again.
I can’t really remember the inner thoughts of the girl I was when I wore a white dress and promised forever. She is a hazy shadow of who I have become after all these years of running to God.
But I know that she would have been grateful to know her path would lead her here.
After dinner, Mr. Fantastic and I walked out into the cold night air, watching cars drive past on the busy street. A few Christmas lights have begun to appear, and people caught up in the excitement of the city at night bustled past us.
We stand at the end of a long day. All that tomorrow will hold stretches out before us. I feel securely held by the the knowledge of God, and the way His faithful hand weaves our future.
Beside this man, with my hand in his, I know this for certain: together we can make it through anything. And I’m sure we will….
