The Best Days of my Life

There is one question that my husband hates to hear, and that is "Do you love me?" I'm probably not the only woman who wants to hear that she's loved over and over again and it makes me feel better to think maybe we're just wired that way. But Richard has expressed to me over and over again that I should never question his love and tells me "Hanna, of course I love you. You asked me just 5 minutes ago." le sigh...

From many conversations like this, Richard and I quickly realized that we speak different love languages - he loves by acts of service and I love by words of affirmation. You naturally hope to receive love in the ways you give love, but sometimes you need to look beyond your definition of love to understand the other person's language. And when you do make the effort to get into someone else's mind and heart, you get so much more about that person than ever before and you begin to slowly learn their language. Only then can you actually appreciate them and understand why God has placed them in your life.

Through God's good gift of marriage, I've come to love and appreciate Richard more during our first year than when we first started dating because I've grown to understand a little bit more about who he is. And because I naturally love by words, I've written a very short list of reasons why I appreciate Richard.

* His unhesitating generosity challenges me to question whether or not I truly understand the gift of giving
* He expresses genuine thankfulness for each meal I cook, even if it's mediocre
* He teaches by example that you diligently study the ones you love 
* He amuses me by laughing at my jokes even when I'm probably the only one who thinks they're funny
* He puts my favorite iPhone game at the top of his game folder list even though he never plays it
* He spoils me with flowers at work even when I least expect it, like our second month of marriage

Happy Anniversary hun, this past year has been the best of my life. I love you!