Tom’s Gentle Strength February 10, 2009

Our Valentine’s Day tribute to our husbands continue…and we’ve added something fun for you.  If you would like to submit a brief testimony to surprise your husband, please post something 250 words or less as a comment and we will choose several to put online next week.  Shhhh!  Don’t tell your husband and we will contact you if we decide to use your comments!

What do I love about Tom? This is a broad question indeed, for it spans three decades of marriage. Three decades! When we first said, “I do”, I loved Tom for his love and commitment to the Lord foremost, and then for his obvious love for me and his determination to make our marriage work no matter what difficulties we would face. This commitment became the thread I clung to when it seemed our love was unraveling before me.

As our love deepened and the years passed I realize how blessed I am to have a husband who leads with gentle strength. His are the arms I run to when I’m afraid, discouraged, sad or uncertain. I know that he will listen, support and speak the truth to me when I need to hear it. I know that he is watching over me, caring for me and seeking to steer me in the direction that will be best for me and for us even if I disagree in the moment. I trust him completely. Although there have been seasons in our marriage when that trust was shaken; God quickly drew our drifting hearts back together. A triple braided cord is not easily broken. We have tested this rope and found that God’s Word is true.

Now as we prepare to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary I realize that I love Tom because he is my dearest friend. He is my partner in this life who knows me best and loves me most; something my selfish heart doesn’t deserve! He is so much like me, yet my complete opposite. I am who I am today because of this wonderful relationship that God has put together for our sanctification and His glory. He is my security blanket and my sandpaper – sometimes offering warm comfort and sometimes providing sanctifying friction. What a contrast.

Tom, thank you for being YOU – the man I depend on in countless ways, and the man I desire to love and serve for as long as we both shall live.

Posted by Debi