Letters of the heart are often private, meant for an audience of one. Yet, tonight I want to give you the public adoration you deserve. Our wedding was public intended to seal a commitment in front of our closest friends and family. I want to reaffirm that same commitment to you tonight, hoping that this is only the beginning of our lives together. Earlier this year, we almost separated, me for heaven and you remaining on earth. We got a glimpse of what living apart would mean, and it almost broke our hearts. God has woven us together as one, three chords binding us with the love, hope, and strength of the beautiful spirit of Christ himself. This chord has been tested and has proven itself strong by the grace of our Lord.
You are my hero. I have watched you grow into a woman I can only hope my daughters will strive to become. Yesterday, Hannah said out of nowhere, “When I grow up I want to be just like my mommy and daddy.” It was a quote I will always treasure. Her aspiration is noble, because your humble endurance is a quality rare in this world today. You walk in complete authenticity even when it often causes insecurity. Like a woman going directly to the well to drink, you draw your strength directly from Jesus. You pray with the faith of a child, and as a result I have watched God respond to your requests. I can almost see His face smile each time you go before Him and cry out your heart. Your trust in Him only grows, and you allow Him to mold you into His image. Your heart for others continues to deepen as a result.
Yet, more than anything I am simply in love with you, Dara, the girl I met in college who boldly asked me out to our first lunch at a Chinese restaurant in Newport Beach. You walk with a style that others follow. Your quiet confidence puts us all at ease, and your beauty radiates from the inside out. You melt us all with your smile and the sincerity of your words. Everything you do is beautiful, and all who know you adore you.
Like a silly school boy, tonight I want to confess my love for you as we celebrate our anniversary apart. I want you to know how special I think you are and how I long to be with you for the rest of my life. I feel it stronger than I did eleven years ago, because then it was only a hope of the future, but today my love is based upon eleven years of heaven with you.
So for the next 50 years, I pray the following: I want to listen more than I talk (which seems to be much easier now without a voice). I want to hold your hand more. I want to look into your eyes more. I want to pray together more. I want to laugh more and cry more. I want to dream more and reflect more on the abundant lives God has given us. More than anything, I want to be the partner that God fashioned me to be. I want to encourage you to become the person God had in mind when He gave you to all of us. I want you to be full of joy because you profoundly experience God’s love for you, and I want to be the main instrument of that love.
Happy anniversary my love! I pray that your time in Guatemala is full of adventure and that you continue to experience the sweet taste of God’s love for you. You are not alone. I can’t wait to be with you soon, but please know that although we are apart we are closer than ever because we sit squarely in the will of our Lord as one. I love you.
Pete