You Love Me Anyway

Yes, my husband's birthday was this week.

And no, I did not give his appropriate moment in the blog spotlight on his big day.

I am sorry, Honey.

 I am sure you are terribly scarred.

Your moment in the blog spotlight has arrived!!!

Happy 32nd Birthday!!!

The truth is, this has definitely not been my best wife week.  Sadly, it coincided with the celebration of a beautiful life that the Lord created.  A life that I have been so blessed to be not only a part of, but to be united with in one flesh in a marriage covenant.  A life that God created to be my strongest, most intimate earthly relationship. 

Oh, how I love my husband.  God has used Eric on so many occasions to teach this woman, who once only loved on condition, to love whole heartedly and unconditionally.  Some days I do it better than others.  Some days I don't think I do it at all.  But Eric continues to stand by me with patience and love, showing me Jesus in how he loves me. 

May I never take that for granted. 

May I also never take the love of my Saviour for granted.

The song, You Love Me Anyway by Sidewalk Prophets, is most fitting for this week.  It is a song about our Saviour's love for us.  It is a song about how we are sinners and unworthly of the grace and love that has been gifted to us by our Heavenly Father.  It is a song about recognizing our sin, repenting of it, and realizing there is nothing that we have done that the blood of Christ has not redeemed.  It is a song about how powerfully and unconditionally our Saviour loves us.  

"I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness." Jeremiah 31:3

"For it is by grace we have been saved through faith and this is not of yourselves, it is a gift of God."  Ephesians 2:8-9

Eric's love for me is not the same as God's love for me.  But when I hear this song, I am so grateful for God's love and grace and how one way He chooses to show that to me is through the love of my husband. 

And I am so grateful for how He equips Eric to love me anyway. 

You Love Me Anyway

by Sidewalk Prophets

The question was raised

As my conscience fell
A silly, little lie
It didn’t mean much
But it lingers still
In the corners of my mind

Still you call me to walk
On the edge of this world
To spread my dreams and fly
But the future’s so far
My heart is so frail
I think I’d rather stay inside

But You love me anyway
It’s like nothing in life that I’ve ever known
Yes You love me anyway
Oh Lord, how You love me
How You love me

It took more than my strength
To simply be still
To seek but never find
All the reasons we change
The reasons I doubt
And why do loved ones have to die?

But You love me anyway
It’s like nothing in life that I’ve ever known
Yes you love me anyway
Oh Lord, how You love me

I am the thorn in Your crown
But You love me anyway
I am the sweat from Your brow
But You love me anyway
I am the nail in Your wrist
But You love me anyway
I am Judas’ kiss
But You love me anyway
See now, I am the man who yelled out from the crowd
For Your blood to be spilled on this earth shaking
ground
Yes then, I turned away with a smile on my face
With this sin in my heart tried to bury Your grace
And then alone in the night, I still called out for You
So ashamed of my life, my life, my life

But You love me anyway
It’s like nothing in life that I’ve ever known
Yes,You love me anyway

Oh Lord, how You love me
You love me, yes You love me
How You love me
How You love me
How You love me