Date Night

Brenda and I did not get to celebrate Valentine’s Day this past Saturday due to Taylor having a basketball tournament nor on Sunday because Sundays are always busy. We decided in advance we would wait until the Tuesday after Valentine’s to celebrate. It was our date night.

We found ourselves talking about our date over the weekend. I began to get giddy about spending time with the love of my life. Our plans included going to her favorite steak restaurant out here in west Texas followed by a night at the movies. I had a little surprise for her. For days I had been thinking about writing her a poem. My plans were to include the poem in a card and then while eating and getting our salads I would slip the card onto her place setting and then sit back and joyfully watch her response at my declaration of love for her.

All went according to plan. When she got up to get her salad I reached into my coat pocket while lingering at the table and slipped the card on the table in front of where she was sitting. Like an excited school boy I rushed off behind her to get my salad. I went on the opposite side of her so I could I could beat her back to the table.

She was surprised by the card. I knew she would be more surprised by the contents inside. I had handwritten some mushy stuff inside the card and folded the typed poem on top of that. She opened the card and read less than half way down before water faucets opened in her eyes and she began to wipe the tears away. At this point it dawned on me that if she broke down crying people would not see me as the loving and doting husband but as the jerk that made his wife cry. I was greatly relieved when the closed the card and told me, “I can’t read that in here.”

Through the rest of the meal I would look deep into her eyes and reminisce over the past eighteen and half years we have been married. We laughed and joked with one another. It was a great meal but my favorite part was eating with her. The only thing that mattered to me in those moments was being with her and enjoying her.

When we got back in the car to leave she opened the card and read it as well as the poem. I nearly wrecked glancing over at her to see her reaction. More tears. More love expressed and received. For once I knew I had done it right. I added value and appreciation to my wife who has loved me and stood with me in some of the hardest times imaginable.

Turns out the movie she wanted to see was not showing. We ended up at a furniture store looking at dining tables and then opted to go home early. She watched a movie and I fell asleep (see my blog a “Sleepless Night” to see why.)

I am a blessed man. Brenda is indeed my soul mate, my best friend, my closest companion, my partner in ministry, and of course my wife. I love spending time with her though we often catch ourselves coming and going. Date nights are important. They revive the romance, rejuvenate the passion, and rekindle the flames of love that do not allow the marriage to grow stale.

Your style may not be poetry or handwritten cards. What ever your style is I exhort you to work at rekindling the romance. Find a date night like one husband I know who turned date night into date weekend. He is madly in love with his wife and she knows it. She is the envy of other wives and he is the shame of other husbands. Way to go! Keep to fires of love and marriage sizzling.

Below you can read my poem to Brenda The Love of My Life

Brenda, you are the love of my life and captor of my heart,

It seems like yesterday our romance began to upstart,

There you were sitting at the park across the table,

Both of us talking about Him who is more than able,

I had never met a girl who loved Christ quite like you,

You had never met one so unrefined and uncouth,

It was the classic tale of beauty matched to the beast,

When I laid eyes on you it was a scrumptious feast,

I knew you were the one – my truest soul mate,

What a joy going out with you on those first dates,

We laughed, dreamed, and together we prayed,

We grew together as God’s grace was displayed,

We parted for a time – a difficult and lonely season,

You had yours but God had other sovereign reasons,

God reunited us when His work was finally done,

Though I dated others my heart you had already won,

We were engaged and married eighteen short years ago,

The journey has been steep and the way hard to follow,

You stood firm when momma died back in May of ’98,

You stayed when the love at Burke church turned to hate,

You did not break when financial woes fiercely pummeled,

Only love and support toward me you always funneled,

You endured the hot humid days of sultry east Texas heat,

Giving birth to eight pairs of pitter pattering baby boy feet,

You uprooted and moved by faith time and time once again,

You gave up a career much more successful and profitable than I,

You followed out west tearfully telling Paradise sadly goodbye,

Now you live out west where wind and dust continually abound,

Faithfully standing by my side when life constantly came unwound,

I loved you when we stood before the Lord back at First Baptist Hurst,

My love has grown with all the good and been deeper rooted in worst,

Of times when life and ministry did not make any logical sense,

When I felt betrayed by our God and faithful Sovereign Prince,

You loved me through it all and never wavered in devotion or love,

For me or for Jesus who divinely planned our union from above,

Today, I celebrate my love for you as strong - immovable as a mountain,

I delight in drinking of your love which is a never-ending fountain,

You are my love, my best friend and my truest and trusted confidante,

Two hearts no longer separate but two that beat and love as one,

Held together in the covenant we made before the family and Son,

I love you with a love that defies words and descriptive explanation,

Being your husband is a cause for continual delight and celebration