We've Seen a Side of Love Most People Never Get to See

Sometimes I am ashamed of my testimony. Sometimes, I don't want to tell my story. Sometimes I think of my story as sad and ugly. I think about the different tiers of my testimony...my rebellious youth, my pregnancy out of wedlock, my years of hard partying and then my marriage and the lows we have had in that.

The other night, Nate and I got a chance to sneak out of the house for a couple of hours because my dad was staying the night. We went to Apothecary in our neighborhood and sat at a table by the windows and just talked. It was a couple of hours of pretty intense conversation. Talk about our families, the lows in our marriage, our kids...there were even a few tears shed (seriously not that many)...just a few:) When we got in the car, Nate said to me "man, this is the real deal. When you can sit and talk for hours about painful stuff...differences, family dysfunction, lows in your marriage...and you walk out still completely in love with the person...that's the real stuff. We're strong. We've seen a side of love most people never get to see."

That last sentence stuck with me. Like glue. I have thought about it every day since. I mean, all of it stuck with me but that one sentence "we've seen a side of love most people never get to see", really made an impression on me. I think mainly because to me, it sounded like he was saying we've had the privilege of experiencing a love that people would want but don't get to experience. It made me view "my story" differently. It made me realize again that it's a beautiful story. It's a true story of love and redemption and restoration.

How cool is it that our God can take such broken people, broken marriages and broken dreams and give them new life? A beautiful life.

I am thankful for that. Are you?