Sunday, April 15, 2012

A Letter to Joy: I Trust You Because...


Dear Joy,

You trusted me long before it was safe. I was a swinging bachelor on my own, while you still had 2 years of blue book exams and cafeteria food left. 

Yet with all those miles between us, you had a devotion that dissolved the painful infidelities of my past. You were the first to show me what relentless commitment looks like. There was simply nothing there not to trust.

But my trust runs far deeper than relational fidelity and faithfulness.

I trust you because you’re a remarkable mother. You carried our four children in your womb. You fed them from your breast. You pushed life-sustaining syringes into their skin on next to no sleep. You gave, and you gave—and you give—putting the household needs ahead of your own. There is simply nothing there not to trust.

I trust you because you are less right-brained (or more left-brained) than I am. You’re better with the bills and the books. My paycheck flows right into our joint account, and you see that it all gets where it needs to go. We discuss the budget and significant spending decisions, and I trust you with the rest. Not once have I doubted the stroke of your pen, or the swipe of your card. There is simply nothing there not to trust.

I trust you with my body. And I really don’t care to say much more about that on a public blog. ;-)

Most importantly, I trust you because I know God has us both in His grip. His presence gives me the grace to forgive and forget your faults, and silences the voices that try to whisper things to me about you that are not true. 

Without God, grievances pile up, and every move becomes suspect. With God, I am free to trust you with complete abandon—be it with boys, bills or the bedroom.

Did you just put one lump in my coffee, or two?

With love (and trust),

Scott


On Mondays, Joy and I join Seth and Amber Haines as they fight the good fight for their marriage. They call this weekly series “Marriage Letters” and pray that it encourages each of us in our own hard work of marriage. Next week's prompt is “Enduring Loss Together.” You can join us any time with your own letter to your spouse, whether you both write or blog or not. Amber hosts a link-up on her blog, so we hope you’ll share your letter there!

3 comments:

  1. Lovin' these letters, Scott. Thank you for faithfully posting them each week and for faithfully living them day by day.

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  2. You are a lucky man! Thanks for sharing!

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  3. "Most importantly, I trust you because I know God has us both in His grip. His presence gives me the grace to forgive and forget your faults, and silences the voices that try to whisper things to me about you that are not true." Great line. All because of God's grace.

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