Renewed Each Day in Love

I firmly believe that God puts people in our lives to make us more aware of our short comings. Whether it be a blatant sin or a casual straying from the path He's set for us, He uses those people to point us back to where we should be. That person for me came in Leah, whom is not only my wife, but my friend, and spiritual guide. Most might find it odd that I would consider my wife to be the one who guides me, but it's true. While I have those men in my life who keep me accountable and journeying down the right path as a Paul / Timothy relationship, Leah is the one whom my heart has been given to. Her life for all intensive purposes has become the center of my world. I cleave to her and will ultimately cherish her so that in my arms and love she would remain blameless before the Lord. Before we were married I had to contemplate the question: "Is she the one?" People do tend to rush into marriage with blinders on and are shocked by what they find, but in my own life I have always asked the question of every single girl I've dated. We all should ask that question even before going out with someone. The result of any dating relationship is marriage and marriage will only work when you can look past the physical/emotional portions of your relationship to realize that God is putting you both together. For us to say, "I love you now and forever" in one day at the altar before a pastor to only deny it a few months or years means that we were liars. We must actively seek to love our wives or husbands each and every day. The covenant I have most often made in my head is that "I love her because..." and it is what follows that really makes me understand my relationship is about. If you realize that what follows is purely physical; such as, "the sex is great" or "she is gorgeous for every date", then you need to remember that looks fade and sex doesn't last forever. That could explain be the reason why most relationships end and why we turn to someone else to fill a that superficial need. There needs to be a deeper calling and that usually requires that you're dedicated to the marriage everyday, not just when you can get something from your partner. Learning to trust without expectation is hard and I've had to learn that daily in my own marriage that what I expect is not of her, but of me. Love with a sincere heart causes walls to crumble and opens up a whole new dynamic in a marriage or relationship that can function without expectation.