This Man I Love

We celebrated an anniversary this weekend. I feel so blessed, so honored to have this marriage, this gift from God. It has been a wild ride, a time of ups and downs, the highest highs and times of pain and sadness. We have been through a lot. Life is that way, sometimes. We’ve been through personal pain, many challenges, but overall we have been surrounded by love, from each other and God and the cherished people who remain in our life.

I don’t talk too much about our marriage publicly because it’s ours and private. But occasionally I’ll share something because I hear from people all the time who don’t believe in love, don’t believe they’ll ever find a special relationship. I used to think that. I was told I wasn’t good enough to be loved, but God healed that toxic lie and helped me become a whole person. My relationships changed so dramatically once I finally embraced what it really meant to be a child of God.

Last year my cousin and I were talking about marriage, and she said people have the wrong idea about it. They think when you get married it’s like a special box filled with the keys to happiness, but the fact is, the box you get upon saying I do is empty. It’s up to you to fill it with good things and memories.

I like that description. I think it’s very insightful.

Right after we got married I wrote this poem, and as I read it now a decade later it is still applicable, still true. It’s published in my book, A New Dish.

This Man I Love

This man I love
with soft caress
his gentle touch
his smile, the best.

This man I love
with kindest heart
respects my words
adores my art.

This man I love
who shares my faith
who prays with me,
accepts His grace.

This man I love
who sees in me
a tender heart,
sincerity.

This man I love
who loves me too
gave me his name,
a life anew.

This man I love
who changed my life
my husband now,
and I, his wife.

© 2005 Cherie Burbach, A New Dish