Sixteen Years and Two Weeks

For a change, this will have very little to do with our life here in our new home, but a lot to do with the man who is my home.

Sixteen years and two weeks ago, on August 13th, 1994, I got to marry my best friend.  We were so young (24 and 21) and skinny and naive.  We had no idea where these last sixteen years would lead us...11 different mailing addresses,  8 full-time (and countless part-time) jobs between the two of us,  and 7 churches.  We've been to 7 different countries and 21 states together.  We've ridden just about every type of transportation know to man...except maybe a helicopter and a rickshaw.  We've seen hundreds of movies, and eaten enough guacamole and ice cream to kill us at an early age.  We've been blessed with three amazing children and more *"heart-friends" than anyone deserves in a lifetime.  When we got married Trey, of course, picked the music.  At the last minute he added a song that was sung while we lit the unity candle.  Here are the lyrics:

We lift our voices, we lift our hands.

We lift our lives; they are yours.  We are an offering.

Lord, use our voices, Lord, use our hands.

Lord, use our lives; they are yours.  We are an offering.

All that we have, all that we are, all that we hope to be...we give to you.

Lord, use our voices, Lord, use our hands.

Lord, use our lives...they are yours.  We are an offering.  We are an offering.

I've thought of that song a lot over the last few months.  It is still true.  Although we've both failed numerous times and in many ways our hearts' desire is still the same.  We are His.  He is the reason for all the blessings over the last sixteen years.  He deserves all the glory.  We would have completely ruined the whole thing.  I don't know why we have been so blessed, but I do know that we are humbled by it and want to be faithful with what has been entrusted to us.  We are an offering.

*This is a term I'm stealing from my friend Bonnie.  Your heart language is the language you talk about the things closest to your heart in.  It is almost always your mother tongue.  We are struggling through learning Serbian so we can talk to people here about "heart" matters.  Bonnie said some friends are like that...you just speak the same "language" and you can talk about the most important and intimate things with them.