My Bride

As of today I have been married for 4 years.
My wonderful wife Kristy and I were married on April 27, 2001. She's the most wonderful woman I could know. We have been together for just over 7 years now and are still in love as if we were dating.

Shapes have changed: Not only have I've gotten out of shape and she's become shaped with our son Caleb but the shape of our marriage changes regularly as we continue to grow as individuals.

So many people in life have a hard time with marriage because they want to remain married to the person they saw on their wedding day with no changes. The reality is that although the core of a person may be the same we all grow and change as people. Kristy and I have enjoyed this growing process together and are honestly in a far greater place in our marriage and relationship than at any other point. You see, as we've grown older we've grown together. It's as if we simply are one (makes sense huh?).

Don't get me wrong, in many ways we are very different people: She's an ISFJ and I'm an ENTP in Myers Briggs (If you want to test yourself, visit this personality profile site). I remember a few years ago when my friend Ben Arment (History Church and a personality type specialist--he does entire staffs [I recommend every staff doing this]) gave me my Myers Briggs results he asked me hesitantly: "Tally, how's your marriage?" He was serious. According to the personality indexes we were just on opposite ends of the planet.

These 4 years have been a great learning and growing period of life. At the beginning of our marriage we fought regularly. What we quickly realized was that it's nearly impossible to combine lives when both people want their own way. We've long since gotten past that selfish attitude that many of us carry around. Kristy and I now are compliments to one another.

Whether we say it often or not, I know we're constantly learning from each other.
Just a few examples:
Kristy has taught me the valid value of other's feelings (more than I would if left on my own).
She's taught me the value of details.
She's taught me that one flower here and there are more valuable than a dozen on special occasions.
Simply by being who she is; she has challenged me to be a better husband (and soon to be father).
She's often reminded me of who I am in Christ when I get down on myself.
She provides me esteem through her desire to be near to me.
She displays grace on the outside even during those times when I know something/someone irritates her on the inside.
She demonstrates reverence for our God by her desire to honor Him with her life.
She shows me strength as she often takes the lead in her side of the family.
She's a shining example for Godly beauty. Although she's an extremely attractive woman she's conscious of modesty and demonstrates beauty from the inside out.
She puts up with me!

My wife is an amazing woman and I'm so thankful to have her by my side. She will be an incredible mother as she is already an incredible partner, lover and friend.

I love you Kristy, Happy Anniversary!