An Unrecognized Gift

I work in a school these days.  All schools are supposed to be very concerned with academics and this one is no exception.  But since most of our student population is Asian, the academic pressure is pretty intense.  It is actually a pleasure to teach our students because they take their studies seriously and are overall pretty good kids.  They are very respectful, they don't cut class, or try sneaking a cigarette in the bathroom.  Another thing you don't see much of is high school dating.  These kids are too busy studying to date.  We have an occasional couple but it's not the norm.  People tend to comment on how silly high school relationships are and how very unlikely that they will work out.  I find myself agreeing and then laughing because I did in fact marry my high school sweetheart.  So it is possible.......

Looking back on it now, it is really incredible that I have been married for 10 years to a man that I met at the wise old age of 16.  As a 16 year old I barely knew anything about what life was like, what I wanted, and what would last.  Having been blessed with a wonderful parents who had a great marriage, I knew a few things about what a good relationship looked like, but there was so much I didn't understand about all the hard work that goes into making a relationship like that work.  I knew I wanted a guy with solid character like my dad, so I avoided the flashy guys, the smooth talkers, and ect...... but it's hard to really know how someone will turn out when they are only 16 too. Some people would say I got lucky, but I don't believe in luck.  I believe that God gave me a gift.  He gave me a gift in the form of a wonderful boy who would develop into a more wonderful.  I didn't recognize the value of the gift I had been given, I was just dreamily happy in love.  I didn't do all the right things to maintain this treasure or hold onto it.  But despite lots of mistakes and plenty of moments where I wasn't sure if it had been a gift at all, here we are.

We have celebrated our 10th anniversary.  We have lived on 2 different sides of the world.  We have survived a few moves, lots of job changes, disappointments, thrills, highs and lows.  Into our world have come a handsom 7 year old boy and a beautiful 5 year old girl.  And after a long wait, I am 4.5 months pregnant with what seems to be a wonderfully healthy little baby.

This weekend we went away for the night to our local Hilton where my still romantic husband managed to suprise me with a room pre-decorated with rose petals, photos of our wedding, and an anniversary cake/chocolates/fruit. We had a wonderful time having fun together just the 2 of us. He still adores me, even after all these years and all of these babies.  I am blessed.  I couldn't have known as a young girl that my high school crush would have ended up this way.   We have many more years to go but our journey so far has been a good one.  I am thankful that although I can never see very far down the road in front of me, God always sees and provides me with just what I need whether I recognize it or not.

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