Today is the birthday of my beloved husband. He is now forty-seven years old. We've known each other longer than we've not known each other since we met during our college years. When I met Jim, he was a brand new Christian. He was already serious about growing in the Lord and seeking an authentic faith. He was a learner from the very beginning and was committed to not just gaining knowledge, but applying what he learned to his life.
Yesterday, Jim chose to celebrate his birthday in a way that blessed not just him, but his kids. He fought a muddy Nerf battle with them in the morning and then took them to see a Pixar cartoon later on.
Today, he chose to celebrate his birthday in a way that blessed others outside of our family. This morning he taught his boys' Sunday School class at church and this afternoon, he lead the opening prayer at We Will Go and helped serve the meal after the worship service. He also spent time encouraging a homeless man to quit focusing on his past sins and failures and instead, just keep going hard after Jesus.
And Jim's not just speaking hollow words, he's speaking words that are real for him personally. He's not perfect. He's got his sin areas he struggles against and personal weaknesses he's still working on. He's done things he isn't proud of, things he has confessed and received forgiveness for.
But what makes him one of the strongest Christian men that I've ever known isn't that he's perfect, but that he is doing what he told Jimmy to do. He is going hard after Jesus and not letting anything stop him from being and doing what God is calling him to.
And seeing him serve his kids, his church, and the homeless, addicts, prostitutes, and hurting at We Will Go is just evidence of what's in his heart. For indeed, Jesus rules and reigns in this man's life and I'm very blessed to be sharing this life with him.
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