God does not let you graduate until you maximize the blessing, learn the lesson, and pass the test. My husband and I often say that we could not have reconnected any earlier than we did because we we're not ready. We had not learned all the lessons from past relationships. We had not mastered our singledom, nor had we learned from our brokenness. Isn't it funny how God can use our pain to bless us?
 
What do you mean? Well, most of us don't truly learn who God is until we need him. We don't know he's a healer, until we are sick. We don't know he's a deliverer, until we need deliverance. We don't know he's a savior, until we need saving. The same can be same about our mates. I'm not talking boyfriends or significant others. I'm talking about those who are in covenant relationships. We don't know how much we love and appreciate our mates until our marriages are tested. We don't know how much we can endure until we are forced to endure it.

One of the biggest lessons I learned was that marriage is about need. God said that it was not good for man to be alone so he sent him a helpmeet. Before I got married, I didn't need a man. I just wanted one. I didn't understand that I was a stubborn, fiercely independent woman, who was a Stone in name and theory. Yet by the grace of God, I recognize that I needed to be loved. I needed to be protected. Just like my husband needed me. He needed his rib. He needed a helpmeet. We need each other. Marriage is vulnerability by design.

Today, I celebrate my husband's life. I am so proud to be his wife. I do not take it lightly that God chose me to be his wife, the one with whom he will spend the rest of his life. I love you. I want you. I need you. Happy Birthday Babe.