The Man I Love

There is so much I want to say in this post yet the writer in me says that if it gets too long it gets boring and nobody reads it. So, how do I say everything I want to say about the man I love?

I remember when Jimmy and I dated, we used to talk about how we wanted our married lives. We were best of friends before we ever started dating, were worried that if we started dating that we might somehow jinx our friendship. But, we didn’t want to go through life without each other and so the rest is history. We started dating in April, engaged in July and married in December.

Our first years were a time of adjustment as we were two people trying to become one. But one we became. Deeply addicted to one another.  Married life has been so sweet and precious for us. The Lord has blessed us with beautiful children. He has called us into the ministry to serve Him. Our world was like a sweet love story.

Then, three years ago, paralysis struck my body. With it came some paralyzing fears about our marriage. I was no longer the woman he married.  I was half the woman he married – if that! I was no longer the housekeeper he married. I was no longer the cook he married. I was no longer the lover he married. All of these things are very raw, but very real. I never thought for a moment that my man would ever leave me or stray or ever be less than loyal but I worried about deep in his heart how “we” would be.

I don’t know why I worried. I have learned so very many things from this man. He has taught me what love is all about. He has taught me what marriage really means. He has taught me that to make a vow before the Lord in marriage is a very serious thing and is not to be taken lightly. He has given me the confidence back that I needed to feel like a wife, a woman, a mother…his helper. He has made me feel more loved than ever before. We laugh together at what we used to think love was and what we experience together now. If you ask me, this is what the heroes of love stories ought to be made of. Not men who can sweep a girl off her feet, but men who love and cherish a girl after the ground has been knocked out from underneath her.

It has been my honor to share with you my hero, Jimmy Reagan – the man I love.

Curious to hear his side of the story? Then stay tuned to this blog for his perspective because he is writing the next “love” blog and you can hear it from him yourself.