View from the 8th year

If you visited my home, you would notice a scrawled letter framed in a shadow box with a tiny, extremely ordinary rock. It came to me after my husband-to-be spent five days in the wilderness. I expected a tome when he informed me he spent much of the time thinking of and writing to me. I received two paragraphs of the most treasured lines he has ever uttered. These words seem more real with each passing year and each passing difficulty weathered. I had no idea then just how wise he was.

4 June 2002

Dear Genevieve,

This is one of the rocks I found in Vermont. It is also my hope for us. Countless years in that stream have polished its edges, leaving it smooth and soft in the hand. The polish also reveals a few fine cracks, slight weaknesses, the result of tremendous forces in its past. Yet after so many years there remain a few areas, unrefined, that have not yet been touched, that contain the sparkle of still-to-be-discovered treasures.

My hope is that our time together will be a journey of continuous discovery. Polishing that reveals comfort and strength in our relationship but always with more to be learned about each other, ourselves, and God.

Love,

Aaron

Yes, the cracks surface from time to time, and the stresses we survive create new ones. Reveal weaknesses. But our love is just that, after 8 St. Valentine Days...smooth and soft in hand. What was sharp and sweet that first day, when I laughed so hard at every whispered secret, has become mellow and rich. What a wonderful journey God has us on, even though the ride occasionally dips to remind us just how high the heights have been.