Our First Wedding Anniversary

This year has brought about many "firsts" for the two of us.
* First car
* First wedding anniversary
* First time driving down the East Coast alone
* First Job
* First house (OK, it's a rental but Josh was thrilled to be finished with apartment living)
...and we are sure the list could go on.

We could not think of a better way to spend these "firsts" than together as a married couple. It has been so special for the two of us to finally be together as one. While it is not always easy to live through life's adventures as a team, it has certainly provided us with many rich experiences.

Mike Mason, in his book, "Mystery of Marriage", describes marriage in a way that Josh and I can now relate to in some small way:

"For in the first place, love convinces a couple that they are the greatest romance that has ever been, that no two people have ever loved as they do, and that they will sacrifice absolutely anything in order to be together. And then marriage asks them to prove it. Marriage is the down-to-earth dimension of romance, the translation of a romantic blueprint into costly reality. It is the practical working out of people's grandest dreams and ideals and promises in the realm of love. It is one of God's most powerful secret weapons for the revolutionizing of the human heart. (emphasis ours) It is a heavy, concentrated barrage upon the place of our greatest weakness, which is our relationship with others."

The Lord has done several surgical procedures in our hearts this year. Although we do not recognize this every day, marriage has taught both of us that we need to realize "the biggest sinner I know is me." (Harvey, Dave; "When Sinners Say I do"; p. 36).

Praise the Lord that he has also helped us to understand that,

"We may be works in progress who are painfully prone to sin, yet we can be joyful works, for-thanks be to God- we have been redeemed by grace through the death and resurrection of Christ."

Thank you friends and family for upholding us in prayer this year. We have felt your support and loving graciousness as we learn to love one another with Christ's love.

In his Grace,

Josh and Whit