A Story for the Eve of Our Anniversary

Dear Joey,

Once upon a time, there was a boy from Kansas who dropped into my life -- uninvited, I might add. The first time I saw him, his eyes captured me, but not because I fell into them with the sort of abandon girls like me dream about. They searched me out, found me, and locked on my own eyes, never once looking away. 

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It unnerved me. He unnerved me. His rapt attention to me and his heartfelt interest in me didn't make sense to me - how could a stranger be falling for me? To my crippled heart it simply could not be true, and so I decided it just wasn't real, that he wasn't real, that he was an illusion not to be trusted. Eventually, his kind words were lost on me and his generosity was wasted on me.  But he persisted, assuring me he could be trusted, because Love is patient and kind. 

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And persist he did. People started to doubt my sanity. This boy was attractive, kind, considerate, thoughtful and fun. He made me laugh and think and let me know that what I said really mattered. He was artistic and intelligent and cultured and creative all in one breath. He was a man of faith, integrity, and joy -- he was everything I was looking for, and he knew it. I didn't. And so, he let me take as much time as I needed, because Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude.

 

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Finally, he became too much. Too kind. Too thoughtful. Too generous. Too perfect. I felt like I didn't have a choice and I wasn't okay with that, so I told him to leave me alone. And he did, because [Love] does not demand its own way.

 

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But he didn't go away.  He was friends with my friends, my roommates;  it seemed as though he was always around. He was there for midweek dinners and birthday parties and ordinary Saturday nights. He watched as I climbed into cars with other boys, and greeted me when I came home from dates with them. He didn't shy away from me, pride hurt from my rejection. And while he didn't understand why I wouldn't choose him, he honored my wishes and let me be. He let me make my own choices without complaint, because [Love] is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 

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And when the day came when my heart changed, when I realized how I had wronged him when I treated him so poorly, when I knew that I needed to tell him how sorry I was and how much I actually cared about him, he didn't mock my feelings or laugh at my foolishness or my attempt to make things right, because [Love] does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.

   

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In those early years that boy from Kansas remained steadfast in his love for me, sifting through the good and the bad that life brings our way looking for the golden moments that make it all worthwhile, waiting for the day he would walk with me instead of choosing to walk away from me. And he has walked with me faithfully for the past five years because Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.  

 

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It is because of these things and so much more that I know our Love will last forever.  

Happy anniversary, my boy from Kansas.

Love,
Scratch

⁴ Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud ⁵ or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. ⁶ It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. ⁷ Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

⁸ [...] love will last forever.

-- 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 NLT