My Valentine

In the Summer of 2007, God and I had a serious conversation about my personal life.  He said that I had my shot at marriage and that I blew it.  He said that being in a relationship was a privilege, not a right, and that if I were to find another love it would be by His grace and His grace alone.

As such, I came to the realization that another relationship just might not be in the cards for me and that it would be wise to prepare myself for that possibility.  Being the extremist / control freak that I am, I decided to “stop looking” and simply accept the single life.  I mean, I was 27 years old and past my prime.  :)

Then, just a few days after surrendering my right to be in a relationship to the will of God, Bonnie came into my life.

And the past five years have been incredible…  We quit our jobs, sailed the seas, built houses in the barrio, and entrusted our lives fully to God.  As we have most recently started a tribe (with our baby girl Lexi), most people would say that those days of free-for-all travel and sacrificial giving are behind us.  They say that it is now time to “grow up, settle down, and establish security” in our lives.  But these days gone by were too wonderful to remain solely in our pasts.

Yes, these early days of our were wonderful, but I have no desire to recreate them.  For compared to yesterday and today, they pale in comparison.

Over the past 5 years I have fallen more and more in love with Bonnie everyday.  From integrating into our respective families to creating our own little home, she has demonstrated strength, love, forgiveness, and patience.  But all of that is second to the morning of September 18th when I watched her go through labor with Lexi.  I had heard that when you see your newborn baby for the first time, everything changes.  And it did for me, but not for the reason I had thought it would be…

When Lexi was first born and Bonnie held her in her arms, my eyes immediately  welled up with tears.  But, not because Lexi was so beautiful, but because Bonnie was so beautiful.  With strength and perseverance and grace and love, I had just witnessed MY WIFE give birth 100% natural!  And that was just the beginning.  Over the past five months, Bonnie has proven to be an amazing mother…  Dedicated, patient, kind, and above all nurturing.  Lexi is incredibly lucky to have such an super-hero mother, but not as lucky as I am to have such an amazing wife!

This Valentine’s Day, I am as humbled as I am in love.

Bonnie – I love you and look forward to spending so many more wonderful days with you and our family.  Happy Valentine’s Day.