Picture this…
Fuzzy pink slippers…

Knee-high, men’s socks (knee-high on me because they are too big, of course) …

Baggy gray Capri pants that don’t really want to stay up…

A tank that is old, faded, and covered in stains from who knows what (I have 4 kids)…

No make-up…

Hair in a messy bun…meaning that I haven’t done anything to fix it since I went to bed last night…

THIS is how I went to check the mail. Yes, my grandmother is probably having a mini panic attack right now, BUT I’m not going to lie to you people. Why do I go dressed this way? Don’t I care about what the neighbors may think? Well, quite frankly, NO, not really. They are great friends and I would do just about anything for them. I will even try to remember to water some mums for a week and a half to keep them from dying…I did TRY!!! But I’m not going to get dressed before I leave the house to check the mail…my mail comes at 9:30.

Wait, who am I kidding? I don’t really do much in the way of getting “all gussied up” even when I go out. Why? Who do I have to impress with my clothing…my looks?

My husband?

Funny you should mention him…let’s look at that for just a second…
I am fortunate…wait, no, blessed, that my husband loves me…JUST THE WAY I AM!!!

He has come home from work and found me frazzled, looking like I just got dragged out of a dumpster…probably smelling like one too (remember the kids?) …and what words does he say to me?

“You are so beautiful?”

Hold on…I think I just spit my coffee through my nose…did you just call me beautiful?

He did, and he means it.

I’ve asked him if he’s blind, but I’ll be darned if he doesn’t have near perfect vision.

Sleep deprived? Well, yes, he is that…

Crazy? He married me, didn’t he?

He married the lady that barely holds it together a lot of times.

He loves me through my two-year old tantrums.

He loves me when I cry because, well, sometimes I don’t even know why I’m crying.

He loves me when I’m irrational.

He loves me when the house it a wreck.

He loves me when I haven’t cooked a meal.

He loves me when the kids are misbehaving.

He loves me when the kids don’t match OR even have on real clothes. Hey, they like pajamas and costumes. Why fight THAT battle?

He loves me when I forgot to buy bacon.

He loves me when I forget to brush my teeth.

He loves me even though I’m a germaphobe…he has a lot of fun with that.

He loves me when all his clothes are dirty.

He loves me with no make-up. In fact, I don’t even HAVE make-up…gasp…I know! He always rolls his eyes at me when I put it on.

He loves me enough to tell me that I do too much and work too hard.

He just LOVES me.

He loves ME, the real me. The raw, unmade-up, not put together, ME.

Sometimes I wonder why. Even when I give him my worst, and TRUST me…he often gets just that…he still comes home to ME.  We’ve had our ups and downs. Trust me, we’ve had downs, but we aren’t quitters. Marriage isn’t about quitting.

I don’t always deserve that kind of love. I really don’t, but I have it.  Problem is…I don’t always act as if I appreciate it.

Despite all my insane, OCD, overly exhausted, irrational, craziness…I do realize that I was blessed with someone who loves me for being ME.  THAT is something that I am truly thankful for.  Looking back…even when he drives me nuts…he has always loved me.

Sure, he leaves MESSES (it is a mess, honey).

Yes, he laughs at some of the most completely NON-funny stuff…don’t get me started.

Absolutely, he winds the girls up to a borderline intolerable level at bedtime with “girl fights” and monsters under the bed…did you know that is where Elmo lives? Don’t believe me? Ask my kids.

Can you believe that he thinks vanilla crème caramels are better than chocolate…ummmm NO!  Please make me the chocolate ones…PLEEEEASE!!!

But he has never stopped loving me or been disrespectful of me in front of others…even when I’m crazy.

He attempts to build me back up, help me rope myself in, even when I am tearing myself down and spiraling into a tizzy.

He has sacrificed for me and continues to EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. He works the longest, craziest hours just so I can be home with my babies…the place that I often whine about, but want more than anything in this world and wouldn’t trade for a million bucks.

He loves me when I complain about things…even the things I’ve asked for.

I love him for loving, the often unlovable, ME.

Thank you, God, for the gift of a loving husband. May I always treat the people that I LOVE in a way that lets them know that I LOVE THEM. May they never question how I truly feel.

 

1 Peter 4:8 New International Version (NIV)

8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.

 

May I judge less, empathize more, and never take any relationship for granted. May I show grace… and love like I have been called to love.

And to my husband…thank you for loving me. I love you and am so thankful that we are on this crazy ride together!! I don’t think I say it enough, so here it is for you and any/everyone else to hear.