For Niki

I could not have made a better choice. At the time I was unaware of exactly what I was doing. When I think back on what I was looking for when I found you, it is amazing what I ended up with. My list of what you had that I wanted looked like this:

Hot, funny, friend of my friends, enjoyed life, loved to laugh, hot, and most importantly was willing to be with me.

This is all I was looking for; little did I know I would end up with so much more than that. For way too long I continued to look only at my own list. Only recently have I really learned what love is all about. Paul describes love in 1 Corinthians. He puts it this way:

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

This is God’s list, and it is so different from my own. His list describes real love. The kind of love you gave to me. You were patient when I was not. You were kind when I raged. You forgave when I let you down. You never gave up on me and you were always hopeful. You love was focused on me. You gave up your life and attached your future to mine. Often times, you put more in than you got back.
On your birthday, as I sit separated by thousands of miles, I have thought a great deal about what I can do to make your birthday special. I would love to be able to just take you to the mall, and buy you a shirt, but that is not going to happen. So I am writing you to tell you just how much you mean to me.
You have gone from being that attractive young woman I kissed for the first time, while watching “As Good as it Gets,” to the most beautiful woman I know. In you God gave me everything on my list, but also everything on His list. You are everything I want and need, and I want to thank you for being my wife. Did I mention that you are hot?

Happy Birthday