Marriage should be honored by all...
~ Hebrews 13:4
He was the man of my dreams.
I had finally found Mr. Right, and that night so burned into my memory, he couldn't breathe. He was doubled over on his hands and knees gasping for air.
I rushed him to the hospital, tears staining my cheeks.
He was admitted that evening and was soon transferred to the ICU unit at Cedar Sinai Medical Center.
His diagnosis? Cardiomyopathy. In short - a weak heart muscle. He was lucky to have gotten to the hospital when he did. His heart wasn't strong enough to pump the blood where it needed to go. He was in congestive heart failure and would need a heart transplant.
Lying there in that hospital room, my man so unbelievably strong in his faith, shared with me his belief that God had already healed him. "Nobody's going to crack this chest open," he had told me.
An emotional wreck, I clung to his strength and his faith, because I didn't have any of my own.
It was only a week or so later he walked out of the hospital (no heart transplant) well on his way to recovery. That was 13 years ago.
He and his family sometimes tell me I saved his life when I took him to the hospital all those years ago. But I didn't save him. His faith is what saved him.
On the other hand, I believe he saved me.
If not for my husband, I would only be a sinner...not a sinner saved by grace.
Before his Cardiomyopathy scare, I was just a girl who knew of God but didn't know God. I had never read the Bible, prayed, or professed my faith. After I saw faith work powerfully in his life, literally healing him, I opened a Bible for the first time ever and started learning about God.
His health scare was the first of more than a decade of major life altering trials he and I have faced together. We've had to lean into our faith in God to cope with all of it.
Today I'm a completely transformed woman and a passionate follower of Christ.
If not for my husband, I would still be searching for love in all the wrong places, doing all the wrong things to find it.
I don't miss the single, twenty-something dating life one bit. I partied too hard, drank too much, and was irresponsible with the body God gave me. The path I was on was incredibly dangerous and I'm thankful God led me to the man whose love would instantly tame my wild soul.
My husband is an amazing lover and my best friend. He loves me well and I don't have to do anything radical or irresponsible for him to shower me with words of love and affirmation. He is incredibly chivalrous and loves to discover new ways of romancing me.
If not for my husband, I would not be pursuing a personal passion, living the writer's life.
The faith-building "adventures" God has taken us on over the years certainly gives me a great testimony to write about.
My husband is the one who helped me break into the blogging world, creating and launching this website for me, and supported me in the writing of my book UnEmployed Faith, even though he was currently on year three of his season of unemployment when I wrote it, and the book is about how to cope (emotionally) when your husband is unemployed.
He is my biggest fan and is always ready to spur me on when I feel like I'm not worthy or good enough to be a Christian Author, Blogger, or Speaker.
If not for my husband, I would not know true joy and happiness.
There is a difference between the two. Joy is found in Christ alone. Happiness is found in circumstances. Because of my husband, I know and live with both.
He has continually encouraged me in deepening my relationship with the Lord, which has resulted in an inner joy and peace almost indescribable. There's no more anxiety haunting me and fear of the unknown is less and less of an issue for me these days.
Life with my husband makes me happy. We have a strong, beautiful marriage, mostly because of his efforts to be sure we are always taking time out for each other and are keeping the marital flame burning hot.
But also because he's a really good provider for our family, amazing father to our children, and absolute best friend to me.
If not for my husband, I would not know the amazing gift of motherhood.
Yes, my children are a gift from God. They are also a product of two lovers uniting as one.
We didn't unexpectedly have children. We talked about it and made the decision together that we wanted them. My husband had been previously married and had a teenage daughter when our discussions about children began. He could have easily opted out of having more.
I'm grateful he didn't. Our daughters are the greatest joy of my life. Being a mother has been a sometimes scary responsibility, but one I wouldn't trade for anything in the world. I never knew it was possible to love another human being as much as I love my children.
...
My husband saved my life!
He saved me from the path I was on...the one that led to self-destructive behaviors, the one that lacked faith in God, the one that would have left me still seeking happiness, the path that led to nowhere.
I was lost. So lost.
And then I met him.
My husband saved my life.
I love him more than I can ever fully express and I'm so grateful to call him 'my husband.'
When I think about my love for him, I can't stop smiling.
How has your husband made you smile?
I'd love for you to share in the comments below.
I'm linking up today with Courtney at Women Living Well for her Be My Valentine marriage challenge. This blog post is just one way I'm praising my husband this week.
I'll be sharing updates in Facebook as I continue to praise and encourage him throughout the week. I'd love for you to stop over for inspiration...or share what you're doing too!
Blessings to you, friend!
Thank you so much for clicking over here and reading. Please feel free to share your heart in the comments or click one of the share buttons below. I really appreciate your visit! Have you subscribed to this blog yet? Just enter your email address in the upper right hand sidebar.
Rosann Cunningham
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Such a beautiful love story.
Rachael recently posted..WIWS: Casual Sunday
Thanks Rachael!
What a beautiful testimony. I love my husband, I truly do. We are in such a hard season, I long for the day when I can write a testimony such as yours, our own love story through a hard season.
Barbie recently posted..He Will Cover You With His Feathers
Oh Barbie, I'm praying with you for that day to arrive. I know it will, too. God is so good!
WOW What a strong testimony!!
Dana recently posted..Valentine Challenge
Thank you, Dana! I appreciate your visit and your comment.
This is absolutely beautiful. I'm so glad you shared it. Pinning it so I can find it again and others can read it too.
KM Logan @lessonsfromivy recently posted..Christian Encouragement and the Occasional Freezer Recipe
KM, thank you so much for your sweet words and for pinning this! I really appreciate it.
I love how God uses the men in our lives to draw us to Him! Such a wonderful example of your husband being like Christ and loving you like Christ loves the church!! Just so awesome!
Sarah @ Loved Like the Church recently posted..Why the Flu is Worse than Childbirth
Thanks Sarah! Oh how I've missed you, girl! It's so good to see you back in Bloggy land.
Thank you so much for sharing your story. I constantly sit in wonder at how the God of the universe loves to bless us in such a personal way. My husband is truely a gift from above as well. We have been married for 11yrs now and I love him more every moment. We love to say, "We aren't perfect, we are just perfect for eachother." I pray that God allows this story to bring people to an amazing relationship with Him!
You're so welcome, Kristi! Isn't God awesome? I love how He knows just what we need when we need it. Thank you so much for visiting, reading, and commenting. I really appreciate it!
I LOVE your story! I love how dramatically God changed your life! Thank you for sharing, sweet friend!
Audra recently posted..Insane Goals 2013
Aww...you are so sweet Audra! What a blessing you are to me, friend. Thanks for your visit and comment. I really appreciate you!
So grateful to have stopped by today from Christin's link on FB. What a beautiful testimony of how God used your husband's faithfulness to touch your heart. It is often I meet wives praying for their husband's salvation and I'm so glad to hear a testimony like this to share with them.
Tammy Skipper (@Tammy_Skipper) recently posted..Simple Scrapbook Gift
Tammy, thank you for clicking over to read. I'm hoping to get an opportunity to return the favor very soon. The day has been full of painting my dining room, fellowship with friends (face-to-face...something I don't do nearly enough,) and taking care of my kiddos. Anyway, my husband means the world to me and there are days where I really enjoy shouting it out to the world just how much I love him. He's truly an amazing guy and I'm very blessed. I really appreciate your comment. Thank you!
What a truly beautiful story! After seeing marriage portrayed so horribly on media, it's refreshing to hear a true love story like this one. Thanks for sharing it, Rosann.
Roz K. Walker recently posted..Home Business Failure: 8 Reasons it Could Happen to You
Roz, you are so sweet to visit me here! Thank you, my friend! And thank you for such kind words about my testimony. It has only been the past few months that I've been able to step back and reflect on the transformation I've gone through. When we're in the midst of the storms it's so hard to see what's actually happening on the inside of us as God is strengthening us and molding us to His will and purpose for our life.
Love this. I could've had a similar (bad) story if it weren't for my husband and his strong faith in Christ.
Being that husbands are the leaders, they can have quite a bit of influence on us--whether we realize it or not!!
Lovely story!! Thanks for sharing!
Christin, so nice to see you here! Thanks for visiting and commenting. I truly appreciate it. I must admit some days I feel like the only person who hasn't been or lived the Christian lifestyle my entire life. In the small town we live in, many people (at least those I hang out with) were born and raised in Christian faith. It encourages me to hear there are others out there who haven't always gotten it right, but have been touched by the hand of God in powerful ways changing them for the better, and for God's glory. I'm happy I've "seen the light" and now have my focus on the Lord, but I often kick myself for the mistakes of the past. If only things would have been different... but then... I wouldn't have this particular testimony to share, if they had been.
[...] you hear how he saved my life? [...]