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.7 years ago.

3

Seven years ago, I became Jordan's wife. In that seven years, we have had 3 children, moved 7 times, 1 major job change, 1 cancer diagnosis, and traveled to 5 countries. Man, a lot has happened over the course of our marriage. To think that we have been friends for 9 years and together of 8 years and married for 7... well it is amazing. Where has the time gone?

I certainly do not want to boast in any success story of us. By no means are we just lucky in love either. We have had fights, conflicts, we have had trials and difficulty, just like everyone else. Not every day in our lives together has been perfectly peaceful and without hardship. Yet, throughout the entirety of our marriage, a consistent thread has been woven, a faithful truth has sustained. God has been near to us, he has sustained us, and he gives us hope.

Ours is not a success story or marital success. Ours is a story of two people who have been rescued by a great savior, rescued by grace over and over again. And it is that grace that has helped us to love each other more than ourselves. I see it as amazing grace that our marriage has not been destroyed by Jack's cancer and the difficulties that have been borne from it, but has been forged even stronger together. This time has been chock full of temptations and opportunity to destroy us, that is for sure. But God has sustained us, He has helped us to draw closer to himself and to each other in deep and lasting ways.

Each year, I am left more and more amazed at the countless ways we are perfectly matched. God knew what we needed in a spouse more than we did. It really shouldn't surprise me that God had a perfect plan for me, yet when I see, yet another evidence of the way Jordan was created to be, and how that complements me, well it is just makes my heart so happy.

I love being Mrs. Jordan Kauflin. There is no one I would rather live life with, no one I trust more. Amazing grace that brought us together, that sustains us. I cannot say what the future holds for us, but I am counting on encountering more sustaining grace, and sharing it all with the love of my life.

Thank you for loving me the way you do Jordan. I am not easy to love and yet you do it so well. I am certainly one happy wife.

I've been reading a book by Paul David Tripp, called What Did You Expect? on redeeming the realities of marriage. It has been such a wonderful read. It has been provoking and helpful on so many levels. Our marriage is not marked by conflict, yet there is sin because we are sinners, and Tripp speaks so well to heart of the matter. Here is a quote from it that I just love, as it is based from scripture, hope filled for whatever your circumstances. . .

"There are few things more dangerous to a marriage than the feeling of "arrival." When a couple looses a healthy sense of need, patterns of laziness and inattention grow. No longer does the couple carry around a sense of the enormity of the task they have undertaken. No longer do thay live with a shared sense of need for God's help and protection. No longer are they looking down the road for potential difficulties that may threaten their union. No longer is their marriage protected by humble prayer. Every marriage requires divine intervention.

Every marriage needs divine wisdom. Every couple will be pushed beyond the limits of their character. Every couple will need strength beyond what they have. One of the beautiful things that marriage is meant to do is drive each of us away from habits of self-reliance into patterns of dependency on God. There are few things sweeter and more beautiful than a long-term marriage of unity, understanding , and love.

Perhaps the brightest, most wonderful commitment of the Redeemer is captured in these words from Revelation 21:5: "Behold I am making all things new." New is the operative word for what God is seeking to do in your marriage. You are not stuck. You are not committed to the mistakes of the past. You are not cursed to pay forever for your errors. God is in the work of renewal. He sent his Son to earth in order to make real lasting change possible. God has made fresh starts and new beginnings possible. Reconciliation can take place. Restoration really does happen. What was broken can be healed. The weeds of the old way can die, and flowers of a new, better way can grow in their place. God will not call us to face our harvest without giving us what we nee to face it, and he will not call us to plant new seeds of a better way without giving us the wisdom and strength to do it."

I am grateful beyond words that the Lord is a redeeming God, and he is committed to making all things new. I love walking out the life the Lord has called us to together as he is daily conforming us more to his image. Happy Anniversary Jordan.

Comments

Laurel Greer said…
Beautifully written, Tali! Thankful for how He has sustained you, and how your bring glory to Him in your marriage!
May 1, 2011 at 5:01 PM
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