The Bachelorette

Been meaning to post this for the last week:

I just got done thoroughly enjoying the latest season of the Bachelorette.  A couple of reason why: first, the girl was from Philly.  I like remembering home.  Second, it is one incredibly silly show with an incredibly silly premise – gather 30 guys who look alike together with one girl, take them to the most exotic places in the world, and she will find the man to marry.  Third, the show revolves around a conception of love that lends towards shallowness.

I write this because my wife and I have just celebrated our fifth anniversary last week.  I think we would both agree that it has been a long five years – with many ups and downs.  Clearly the last year has had the highest of highs and the lowest of lows for us – the birth of child and being diagnosed/living with cancer.  In the midst of this past year, I have come to know love.

The saddest part about cancer for me is that my wife has shouldered the heaviest burden.  Surgery didn’t cause too much pain.  Most of the time I can handle chemo – sometimes it is rough, sometimes it affects my body, but most of the time I am okay.   But Jenn has walked with me every step on this cancer journey.  She was there when I first had a seizure.  She sat in the waiting room for 13 hours on my day of surgery.  She went to work full-time while 7 months pregnant so that I could have health care.  She had a baby while I was on chemo.  She takes care of the baby at night and in the middle of the night so that I can get the rest that I need.  She puts up with me when I am moody.  She puts up with my fatigue.  She puts up with my good days and my bad days.  She cares for me when I don’t want to be cared for.  She is a tireless laborer for the sake of our family.  She carries quite a burden.  She keeps going and going – even when I can’t contribute my part of the marriage.  She has been a rock for the last 18 months.

 Because of Jenn, I have come to learn more about love in the last 18 months than I have ever known before.   Sometimes I wonder why she doesn’t just walk away – she has put up with so much.  Yet she is still here – laboring on for our marriage.  She has sacrificed for this family in the last 18 months in ways that people never should have to and she is steadfast in affirming love and unity as a family. 

 I am grateful for five years of marriage and look forward to many more.  I tell people I don’t know where I would be without Jenn (I really don’t).  She has saved my life, is saving my life, and who knows where the future will take us!   I am thankful for the person that God gave to me in Jenn!  Happy Anniversary to her!

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