A few years ago my husband was at Wal-mart in the Auto Department. He happened to glance up at the security mirrors and noticed a very balding man. He thought to himself,

“My goodness, that man really needs to ‘fess up to the fact that he is balding and just shave it all off.”

Only then did he realize that he was looking at his own head in the mirror.

He promptly went home and shaved his head.

Since it was late at night, our daughter Kayden was already asleep. Waking up in the middle of the night, she came into our room and began to crawl into our bed. Suddenly I awoke to her little voice whispering desperately in my ear,

“MOMMY! Who is that strange bulbed man in your bed?”

It was funny – although I was glad to rectify the situation before Kayden told any of her friends (or mine, frankly) that there was a strange man in my bed.

But during this month of thankfulness, I am overwhelmed with gratitude for that man.

When I first met him, I was an injured girl – a myriad of difficult relationships haunted my past and I know I am not alone in this – we all bring great amounts of baggage into our relationships.

Brady showed me grace and freed me to realize that we all carry baggage. I was able to drop those bags at the feet of a very Godly counselor and become whole again.

I have always appreciated my husband’s gift of wisdom. He seems to know my heart before I know it. And he always puts my heart first.

I do not know many husbands and wives who love to spend all their time together. Brady and I would love nothing more than to lay around all day watching a movie marathon or jumping on our bikes to ride on a new adventure.

We love to hike together, walk together, ride together, kayak together, ski together, read together, pray together – you name it, we would choose to do it together.

He is my other half. But he’s okay with letting this half be completely crazy and weird – he embraces my “me-ness” and encourages me to shine.

He isn’t jealous of my accomplishments but only wants to revel in them, sharing my trophies with the world. He is unconditional in his ability to allow me to spread my wings and fly.

My husband is a truth teller – and we value the opinions we give. After every service he preaches we spend a great deal of time debriefing. I never miss sitting in the front row when he is preaching. He’s my favorite. And that’s not just because he’s my husband. He’s my favorite because he is not afraid to tell the truth. He always says our time is too short on this earth – and we can’t waste it by skirting around the real issues.

I love that.

We always defend one another. We stand as a unified front. I am never afraid that he will threaten or harm. He is careful with my heart. And I trust that he will lead our family in the wisdom of the Father.

He challenges me. Whether it be with new foods, new trails, or new heights – my husband pushes me to be stronger, better, more vulnerable. He won’t let me be less than the best version of myself. And because of that, I continue to push others to do the same.

I love that, too.

He lives his life verse, “He must become greater and I must become less.” John 3:30

Daily I see him allowing more of Jesus to shine through.

I love that most.

During this month of thankfulness, I am striving to serve those I love more than before. And I am working on serving without complaint. To choose a life of joy is to choose to serve those we love even when it’s hard. Even when they don’t deserve it. Even when we are tired. Even when we feel defeated. Because giving to others makes us less concerned about ourselves.

Today I am thankful for the strange bulbed man in my bed. Because I’m not sure how many of our limited days on earth I will get to spend with him – my best friend, my soul mate, my life partner.

So I wanted to shout it from the mountaintops (or WordPress, whichever comes first) that I love him – and he deserves the best life (and I) have to offer.