Sweat trickled down my back as the scorching sun beat fiercely onto the black tarpaper causing the temperature to soar to over a hundred degrees on this hot summer day. I had been atop the roof for a few hours helping my husband replace the shingles. It was a dirty job and I felt grubby and smelly. My favorite old stained pink shirt and faded jeans were now covered in a thin layer of dirt and grime. Obviously I was not going to win any contest for beauty or fashion in the near future.
As John and I stood up straight for a moment to give our aging backs a needed break, I took the opportunity to start a conversation. As I started to speak a slow smile began to cover my husband's face. "What is it?" I asked.
"You are just so cute! The color of your shirt makes your face light up and the way your hair blows in the breeze...You look so beautiful right now!" His smile turned quickly into a grin. "I love you so much!"
My heart melted. My husband of forty years still found me attractive even in the most unattractive of circumstances. My overweight, sixty year old body wasn't a detriment to his appreciation of me as a person. He was verbal in his praise and in that moment, I fell even more deeply in love with this man that God had given me to share my life with!
Four decades earlier we had pledged our love to each other before God. Through many good times and some horrendously bad times, God has been faithful to give us the grace to greet each new day together. I am so very thankful to have had the opportunity to live my life next to this truly kind and loving man! I am among the most blessed of women!
On our wedding day, August 19, 1973, we claimed Ephesians 5: 1 & 2 as a verse for the course of our marriage. It says....."Follow God's example, therefore as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God."
Have a good day! Love, Sue
