Dearest Mark,
Seventeen years ago you became a father.
We were so young and had so much to learn. I’ll never forget the look in your eyes when the nurse placed our first child, a son, in your arms.
You were overwhelmed with emotion. Tears filled those beautiful blue eyes I had grown to love so much, and I saw something in you I had never seen before. I saw a glimpse of the father you would become, and I saw a glimpse of our Heavenly Father’s love.
Our love had taken on a new dimension. Something tangible and eternal and miraculous had come from our love.
Life would never be the same.
The road lay ahead of us, like an open freeway, beckoning us onward. We had no idea what that road held, the struggles or the joys that we would encounter along it’s path, but we jumped on that freeway with all the passion young love holds.
We were so young, and dreams and ideals filled our minds. We gave this precious gift God had given us back to Him, and asked Him to help us along the way.
The babies came so quickly then. Life grew more complicated. Your career took off like wildfire, and then came to a crashing halt.
We cried.
We laughed.
God grew our faith.
We dreamed again.
We trusted God to determine what our family looked like. Sometimes that was the hardest thing for us. There were moments when fear gripped us as we continued to trust God for our family size through illness and job losses.
So many times we wondered what God was doing.
Then, just as suddenly as the difficulties had come, they seemed to go, and we moved into a more settled stage again.
But God had changed us along the way. Our dreams had changed too. We began to pray that God would use us in a big way for His glory.
Our dreams had shifted from temporal dreams to eternal ones.
God had broken our hearts with the things that break His heart.
At forty six years old, when most people our ages are dreaming of empty nests and cruises just for two, God began to break our hearts with the world’s fatherless.
One very special face consumed our thoughts…
and then another.
And Mark, I have never been more proud of the father you have become than I was on the day you took me in your arms and said, “We have to go. Whatever it takes, whatever it costs, we have to go and bring them home.”
I saw the same look in your eyes that day as I did on the very first day you became a father. It was a look of awe and responsibility. It was an awareness that you fell short in your own strength. The deep love of our Heavenly Father was reflected in those crystal blue eyes again, but this time it was a knowing love, enlightened by the years that had passed. It was the look of a man who had daily laid down his life for his wife and children for eighteen years. It was the look of a man who knew what being a father demanded and what it cost, and yet was choosing, by God’s grace and strength to do it all over again, no matter what it cost him.
It was a look that took my breath away.
You take my breath away.
On this Father’s day, when we have stepped out in faith to meet the needs of two wounded abandoned young girls, I am in awe of the father you have become.
I am in awe of your faithfulness.
I am in awe of your love for me and for our children.
I am humbled by your willingness to trust God yet again with me.
And I am so blessed to be your wife.
Happy Father’s Day, sweet man of mine!
I love you.
Diane … have never read anything so beautiful. I so envy the kindness, thoughtfulness, caring, all those good things, that you have always had. I so envy you your wonderful husband, incredible children, and puppies and kitty! I so envy your life. I so envy everything you were and are. I am so very proud to be your aunt dot. I am so very proud of Mark. I am so proud and overwhelmed by your really great children and the two to come. I love you, more and more each day.
Wow! 🙂
You just might be my biggest fan!
Thank you, Aunt Dot!
Love you!
I am!!
Well, there you go again, trying to make me get all weepy! You make me sound so much better than I am! I don’t know everything, but here’s what I do know : )
– that having your love has made me so much better than I could have ever hoped to be on my own! I still have a long way to go, but I am so blessed to be going with you and our beautiful children – all 11 (and counting)!
I love you!
Mark recently posted..If I’m Walking By Faith, Why Do I Feel So Wobbly?
Mark … you are one lucky man. You have found your perfect, yes, perfect soulmate. You blend into one so beautifully and have produced a wonerful family. I honestly don’t know of another family that has done so many wonderful things together and at the same time for others. God worked overtime on you and Diane and it shows. Your sense of humanity, your humor, your friendship … I value all of this of you. I wish you and Diane the best of luck in bringing home the two beautiful little girls waiting for you in China. God has Blessed you both. So proud of you both … and your children! aunt dot
What a beautiful love letter! May God continue to bless your marriage as he obviously has thus far!
Dusty Drosche recently posted..A Dingo Ate My Drainpipe!
beautifully written love letter…..to a man who clearly loves His God and His family….you will never know the full impact of that on this side of eternity Mark but GREAT will be your reward! Thanks for loving Him and your family well…..it impacts all those who know you …….Jane
Diane, Thank you for sharing something so personal. It made me have my daily cleansing of tears, but they were from happiness for you and Mark. I hope someday God will give me that sort of love.
Happy Anniversary to both of you!
euhhhhh… Mark said ‘and our beautiful children – all 11 (and counting)’… anything to share, Diane? 🙂
beautiful post by the way!
warm regards from hot Netherlands, Claudia
No, Claudia, nothing new to report at this time!
Mark recently posted..Sometimes I Forget
Oh Diane, Thank you for sharing that personal message. You express your feelings in such a beautiful way. It always brings tears to my eyes and a smile to my face. Your family is so amazing to me.
As always sending prayers and love your way.
Diane,
Well written. Perhaps you would like to play this for Mark. You don’t have to tell him I sent it to you. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISjBz_DIbKI
Grace to you,
jim