As Old as Jesus...

This week, on May 22nd, I turned 33.  It struck me that I am now the age that Jesus was when he died on the cross.  Jesus accomplished so much in his short 33 years of life on earth...he saved countless souls, healed so many lives with His love, and he continues to do so today.  I know it seems futile to compare my 33 years of life on earth with my Savior's life, but since we are all called to become more like Him, perhaps it's something we should do from time to time (perhaps even daily). 

As I look back on my life to see what I have accomplished, I see times when I know God was pleased with my efforts, but also times when I have failed miserably...failed to tap into His grace to touch others with His love, and chosen a selfish path instead.  The area that I have failed the most is my marriage.  I am married to a wonderful, Godly man, who has grown into a spiritual leader of our family, an incredible father to our boys who is modeling true manhood and virtue for them, and a loving husband who strives to serve me above himself.  And yet, our entire marriage I know I have placed expectations on him that were impossible to fill, therefore making him feel like a failure, when, in fact, it was me who failed...failed to serve and love him unconditionally.  We celebrate our 12th Anniversary this weekend, and it truly has taken me this long to see my marital immaturity and strive to repair, to heal, and to touch my husband's heart with Christ's unconditional love.  Thankfully, he is a very patient man and has continued loving me and trying to please me through my slow learning process :)  One of my dear friends, who has helped pray for my marriage over the years, sent me the link to an encouraging blog post about marriage.  The following excerpt really convicted my heart and hopefully it will help me become more like Jesus by age 34, and make my marriage more beautiful by our 13th Anniversary!  May these powerful words inspire you in your marriages to:


How would you ever learn unconditional love if you were married to someone who met all the conditions?


How would you ever learn mercy, patience, long suffering, or heart felt compassion if you were married to someone who never failed you? Who is never difficult with you? Who never sinned against you? Who is never slow to acknowledge their sin or ask for forgiveness?


How would you ever learn grace to pour out your favor on someone who did not deserve it if you were married to someone who was always deserving of all good things?


I was reminded that our focus of marriage should not be whether our spouse meets all conditions perfectly, to provide an easy relationship to enjoy.  Rather, we should focus on the opportunities God gives us in marriage to build up our character.


Marriage is a platform to practice the same characteristics of Christ.


You are married to a person who does not meet all the conditions, so that you might learn unconditional love. You are married to a person who needs mercy, so that you learn to give it.

And thus you become like the God you worship!


The main purpose of marriage is that through your marriage you become transformed to the image of Jesus Christ.

(an excerpt from a sermon by John Piper)

Here's a fun photo of Paul and I after 1 year of marriage.

I pray we will be this twitterpated, perhaps even MORE twitterpated, when we celebrate 50 years of marriage!