There have been many conversations that left me chuckling to myself about one particular subject. The subject was brought up at Clyde and Joanie's (my in-laws) house several times. It was the conversation about how Clyde had prayed for me long before I came into Garrett's life. Long before Garrett was dating girls. And long before Garrett was even walking (around on what I can only imagine were sweet, little, chubby legs ;) )
Not word for word, but it went something like this...
"Amber, I have prayed a long time for you, much longer than the two of you have known each other. I prayed for someone for Garrett to share his life with. A wife that loves the Lord with everything she has. Amber, I'm so proud of you. My prayer came true. You are much more than I could have ever prayed for and much more than I could have ever imagined. I am so thankful you met my son. You have made him a better man."
Like I said, it's not word for word, but as I sit here thinking about him - About his heart. About his hugs. About his joy - his unending joy. His deep love for others - I started to look at those sacred text messages Garrett and I made sure we kept. Most of them say how thankful he was for us and ALL of them end with I love you. I have to remind my heart to be still when I read them. This is when I start to think about those conversations we had. He made it so clear to Garrett and me that he was proud of us, our decisions, our aspirations, our relationship. I'm thankful he shared all of this with us and when I mentioned that I would laugh about this conversation, the reason is because he had it all wrong. I never got a chance to tell him that. Oh, how I wish I had the chance to tell him why he had it wrong. He was wrong about that very last part - which is what I always laughed about when Garrett and I would leave their house.
So here goes,
"Dear Clyde,
You're right. Garrett and I couldn't be happier. We have truly met our match. I'm positive God brought us together through divine intervention. I am so thankful for your early morning and late night prayers. Thankful for the prayers that you prayed for Garrett to meet "the right one" long before it was even a thought. Thankful for the many, many years you guided him and looked after him hoping to shepherd him in the right direction as he grew into a man. Thankful that the prayers never stopped even he strayed. I am so thankful for this because your son saved me. You gave me the credit of making him a better man, when in reality it is the opposite. He makes me better and has been making me better since the first day I met him on June 12th, 2009. He was an instant light in the darkness that surrounded me during that time of my life. He changed the course of my life. I will be forever grateful for your many, many prayers, your guidance, the strong faith you instilled in him, the example you set for him to be such a great husband, a household leader, a man of God. By Garrett being a part of my life, he has shared his strong faith with me and has brought me closer than I have ever been with the Lord. He has truly been an example of God's love. Thank you.
I love you,
Amber"
1 John 5:14-15
"And this is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him."
God hears us when we pray. He hears us when we cry out to him. Thank you Clyde for your relentless prayers.
Not word for word, but it went something like this...
"Amber, I have prayed a long time for you, much longer than the two of you have known each other. I prayed for someone for Garrett to share his life with. A wife that loves the Lord with everything she has. Amber, I'm so proud of you. My prayer came true. You are much more than I could have ever prayed for and much more than I could have ever imagined. I am so thankful you met my son. You have made him a better man."
Like I said, it's not word for word, but as I sit here thinking about him - About his heart. About his hugs. About his joy - his unending joy. His deep love for others - I started to look at those sacred text messages Garrett and I made sure we kept. Most of them say how thankful he was for us and ALL of them end with I love you. I have to remind my heart to be still when I read them. This is when I start to think about those conversations we had. He made it so clear to Garrett and me that he was proud of us, our decisions, our aspirations, our relationship. I'm thankful he shared all of this with us and when I mentioned that I would laugh about this conversation, the reason is because he had it all wrong. I never got a chance to tell him that. Oh, how I wish I had the chance to tell him why he had it wrong. He was wrong about that very last part - which is what I always laughed about when Garrett and I would leave their house.
So here goes,
"Dear Clyde,
You're right. Garrett and I couldn't be happier. We have truly met our match. I'm positive God brought us together through divine intervention. I am so thankful for your early morning and late night prayers. Thankful for the prayers that you prayed for Garrett to meet "the right one" long before it was even a thought. Thankful for the many, many years you guided him and looked after him hoping to shepherd him in the right direction as he grew into a man. Thankful that the prayers never stopped even he strayed. I am so thankful for this because your son saved me. You gave me the credit of making him a better man, when in reality it is the opposite. He makes me better and has been making me better since the first day I met him on June 12th, 2009. He was an instant light in the darkness that surrounded me during that time of my life. He changed the course of my life. I will be forever grateful for your many, many prayers, your guidance, the strong faith you instilled in him, the example you set for him to be such a great husband, a household leader, a man of God. By Garrett being a part of my life, he has shared his strong faith with me and has brought me closer than I have ever been with the Lord. He has truly been an example of God's love. Thank you.
I love you,
Amber"
1 John 5:14-15
"And this is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him."
God hears us when we pray. He hears us when we cry out to him. Thank you Clyde for your relentless prayers.