A Tribute to My Husband

Marcel and I survived the 7 year itch!  I guess having 3 kids in 5 years will put you in a constant state of survival. J  On one hand it’s hard to believe that we’ve been married for 8 years and on the other hand I can’t believe that it’s only been 8 years.  I feel like I’ve known him my entire life.  We met in college when we were paired up in the annual homecoming skit put on by the Greek system.  I remember one of the first encounters with Marcel. On that particular night he walked me home to my dorm room.  We talked the entire way home and he completely opened up to me about his life (which for those of you who know Marcel, it’s not like him to talk about himself much – he’s usually the one listening and making you feel at ease).  He spoke of his mom dying when he was young and told me about his three sisters.  I had never heard anyone my age (18 years at the time) speak of their mother and sisters with such fondness.  I remember thinking that night, “someone is going to be a very lucky woman to have Marcel as a husband.”  I just didn’t know it would be me! 

Fast forward about 13 years and here we are celebrating our eighth year of marriage.  Life is much different now – we’ve got three kids, jobs, a mortgage and other responsibilities.  I’m no longer infatuated with Marcel like I was in those early days.  Now, I’m in love with him.  Love is not necessarily that ooey gooey, weak in the knees feeling.  Love is a choice.  I choose each and every day to unconditionally love Marcel, even when I don’t “feel” like it.  I’m making this sound like it is a chore and in my case, it is not.  My message is to simply say that in a society where marriage means absolutely nothing, it means everything to me.  We’ve evolved and we are completely different people than the day we said “I do.”  But that is the beauty of a covenant relationship.  Even as we change and times get tough (and they do!), the foundation of the covenant (the Holy Spirit) shines even brighter.  Marcel is my best friend, my cheerleader, my sounding board, my husband.  I simply wouldn’t do life without him.  I think the most beautiful image in the bible is Christ as the bridegroom and the church as His bride.  The church is in submission to Christ, but Christ laid down His life for the church.  I am fortunate to have a husband who models that and lays down his life for me daily. 

And they lived happily ever after…