Over my husband

 The Lord has blessed me beyond measure, and I don't want to dismiss that, especially when it comes to my husband.  

He has been strong, sometimes silent, sometimes offering a few words, always there.  He is the "steadfast" kind.  He has been faithful to pursue God and spend time in His Word since the day he accepted Christ and committed his life to Him 17 years ago.  He has been faithful to me the same.  

• When I felt like my family was falling apart, he held me and prayed over me.
• When I was unsure of his silence, his seeming distance, his words to the Father reassured me.
• When I couldn't stop throwing up though my first pregnancy, he changed his diet with me.
• When I feared our son wouldn't come home from the hospital, his prayers and arms held me.
• When I struggled with my new role as a mom, he reassured me and helped me figure out "one bite at a time accomplishments".
• When I couldn't stop throwing up through my second pregnancy, he made sure Nathaniel was taken care of.
• He was there through both baby deliveries, while I went through natural childbirth, clipped both cords, and took pictures.  
• He celebrated our children, dedicated them to the Lord, and engaged with them as much as he could.
• He's always been faithful to the military, continuing to serve as a civilian, and keeping his loyalty to God and family first.
• He's entertained the kids' and my ideas through the years, taken us on adventures, built safe steps, playgrounds, and furniture, and even remodeled a home- inside and out.
• He's allowed me to do the tough man work with him, laughed when I dropped a hammer on my head, and fixed my mess-ups.
• He is quick to get on the floor with the little kids, and enjoys flexing his muscles with the big kids.
• Despite my passion that drives me to do radical things, fears (that sometimes looks like anger), and complaints that he's not cheering me on enough, he's never raised his voice to put me in my place. He's only gone silent, taken to time in prayer, and returned.
• When he leaves, he always comes back.  And he never leaves with a harsh word.
• He continues to tell me I'm beautiful and I'm doing a good job, even when I offer burnt food, am in tears of defeat, "can't figure out the kids", or am struggling with my health...
• He's seen me through thousands of dollars of health bills, never suggesting I give up.
• He's held me when I feared the worst.
• He's encouraged me to keep loving when I felt rejected.
• He spoke when the Spirit prompted him, and again and again I am thankful.
• He's taken in kids over the last 8 years who come with all kinds of hurts, scream for hours, spit in his face, and say awful things about us.
• He's cared for kids that were not his own, as if they were his own.  
• He brushes off the offenses of children, and continues to offer hugs and dad humor.
• He's given his name and his promise forever to orphaned children.
• When he puts his "yes" on the table, he stands on it.
• He's been there at a moment's notice for birth pains, sickness, death, emergency calls, and just because.
• He's extended his gifts and experience to friends, neighbors, and the community.
• He's popped hoods, crawled under houses, and climbed mountains for us, and with others.
• He's shown our kids how to look past our own needs.
• He may be silent more than I prefer, but I'm learning that to him, my voice is important.  Just as I need him, he needs me.  He needs me to pray with him and over him, and show him I'll never leave him.  This is the covenant we entered in when we said "yes" to God, and then each other.
• His silence is strength, it's self-control, it's power harnessed.

I am so thankful for my husband.  

I have heard that when you have children you will understand a little more about the heart of God and His miracles.  I agree.  

I have heard that when you adopt, you will better understand what it means when God adopted us.  I agree.

I have heard that our marriage is a reflection of Christ and the church: it is in my husband's steadfastness that I better understand the "forgive them, seventy times seven".  It's also where I have seen the faithfulness of God.

I am so thankful for my husband.  I hope that this is an encouragement to others to recognize their husband's strengths, even if they are the "quiet, strong kind."