Last week in the nursery one of the ladies that works with us was telling us about her upcoming anniversary trip to New York City this past weekend.  I had one of those Rachel and Phoebe moments from Friends when they were 95% happy for Monica and Chandler getting married but 5% jealous that they were not.  I wasn’t really coveting her trip…I wanted my own get-a-way with my husband.  I mean 10 years is a long time and we’ve been through so much.  I really needed to check my attitude or I would end up like Rachel and Phoebe and be 75% happy and falling.  I needed to simply be 100% happy for my friend and 100% happy (and content!) with whatever our anniversary plans were.  The Lord really convicted me to knock it off…and I did…because he has given me more than I could’ve ever asked or imagined!

Little did I know that my wonderful, sweet and compassionate husband had something up his sleeve.  This morning he made me 200% happy when he woke me up with a little something.  I wasn’t really expecting anything.  Especially since last night I came home from church with the kids to a new Life Application Bible just for me…and it’s even pretty!  That was a little bit of a selfish gift he said because he wanted his own Life Application Bible (the one I selifshly told my parents to get him for his birthday last year so I could read it) back! 😉  I thought What better gift than the Word of God!  It was awesome…especially when we stayed up late…both of us with our bibles…looking up scripture and talking about theology and God’s grace in our life over the past 10 years.  It was the perfect way to enter a new chapter in our life together.

This morning however the first thing my generous, wide awake and very excited husband said to his sleepy wife was Happy Anniversary!  I want to give you your present!  I told him I thought I should wait.  He said Let me show you the box and then see if you want to wait.  I saw it and said Nope…I want it!  I opened the box and though my sleepy eyes could barely see when I opened the little white box I could certainly see 2 sparkling diamond earrings!  Put them on! Nathan said.  Needless to say…Mama is wearing her hair UP today!  It was such a special gift because of what happened a few years ago!

This isn’t the first pair of diamond earrings my husband has given to me.  The first (smaller) pair was given to me on our first Christmas as a married couple.  I didn’t expect them then either being that we had just gotten married 7 weeks prior.  I had them for quite a few years but when Maxwell was Jackson’s age he tipped my jewelry box over and I quickly put everything back and I thought I had accounted for everything.  A few days later however when I was using our central vacuum I heard a click, click, click in-front-of my dresser and got a little worried.  When I took inventory I realized one of my diamond earrings was gone.  Despite Nathan’s terrible allergies and best efforts emptying out the canister bag and searching through it for hours we never found the lost (most likely sucked-up) earring.  I was sad because it was such a special gift but I knew it wasn’t really that big of a deal.  And eventually…something bigger and better came out of it…who knew?

This morning I was thinking about our wedding day and the song I chose to have played during our ceremony.  When I heard it I thought it was so beautiful and the words were so meaningful.  My prayer was that God would shine His Light, His grace and His love upon our marriage.  At that time I didn’t know what a dark night was…but I soon learned.  I had not heard that song in so long and then heard it again recently.  What I didn’t realize is that prayer from our wedding day…those words that I thought were so meaningful…the beauty of that song…God answered!  He’s done it…and He does it everyday.  Tears streamed down my face when I looked back over the past 10 years and really saw God’s Light, His grace, and His love that saved us.  It is the only reason we are still together today.  He helped us find out way in the darkest nights.  I wasn’t just 200% happy at that moment…I was overcome with complete and utter joy and such gratitude. 

I keep saying that this anniversary has been made so much sweeter by remembering the bitter things that God has overcome in our life together.  He has been so good to us.  Why would I even think I need to compare myself to someone else when God has proven time and time again that His plans are so much better than anything I could ever even dream.  Even being 200% happy can’t compare to the joy God has poured into our life in the past 10 years.  The surprise of sparkly diamond earrings (not this girl’s best friend) aren’t even the icing on the cake…they’re just a bit of little frosting to this very sweet and special day.

Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.  Psalm 34:8