Ten

Ten years ago, a sweet skinny freshman Derek stopped me in the main hall of Lowery Freshman Center and changed my life. He said, "I know everyone probably told you I was going to ask you this, but will you be my girlfriend?"

Everyone did tell me he was going to ask me that. We were freshmen after all.

One

 Two

(This was the year that Derek's family moved away to Florida. The night Derek told me, it broke my heart. I was fifteen, but on some level I just knew that we were supposed to be together.

I don't have many pictures of the year we were apart. On my sixteenth birthday, my parents told me that Derek was moving back to Allen. I do have pictures of that.)

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Five

 

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Seven

 

Eight

Nine 

 

 Ten

 

When wrote our vows for our wedding we included the line, "You are an incredible blessing to me, and I will be grateful all the days of my life." As I look at the pictures of us over the years that is exactly how I feel.

These past ten years have been a blessing that was completely undeserved. Even before we started dating, Derek was just sort of there all along. One day, even though I was awkward as the day is long, he decided he loved me. Then he just never went away.

I will be grateful everyday for getting to grow up loved like that. It let me maintain a tender heart and be trusting and hopeful. I had a friend to share everything with. Above all else, it taught me about grace. As long as I live, I don't think I will ever get my head around the way that God loves us. But having an earthly example of what it is like to be loved faithfully and for no good reason helps. Is it perfect? Of course not. God always unloads the dishwasher.

It is a dim reflection. Like in 1 Corinthians, "For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully." I know in part what it is like to be greatly loved. Learning to accept it, give it back, and share it helps me to better understand the abundant grace that we will someday know fully. And for now the task is to keep trying to be a better reflection, year by year.