This past weekend, I traveled with my parents down to visit my sister and brother-in-law. Its about a 5 hour trip, so not one that is made often. They were married this past October, and time has kind of flown by. They've known each other since they were 14, thanks to a special place called Camp Arcadia, which I'm sure I will talk about later on. But lets get to the point here; Jon is a great guy, and my sister is almost as much of a piece of work as I am, haha. I've always admired their relationship, and been a go-between on the occasional rough spot. They're both really special people.

On this trip though, I got to see something I haven't seen before. I got to see them working together in a partnership, sharing a place they've made into a comfortable little home (although temporary, its an apartment) offering each other small comforts, gestures of support and love, and displaying a knowledge of each others habits and little patterns. I was awed. My sister and I have had extensive conversations about different types of relationships and how a different types of people function together, and we didn't always agree. I can say this quite honestly, I was entirely jealous of their relationship. I've had this image in my mind of what I someday wanted in a marriage, and it was so different from what I was seeing that I had to take a step back and reassess. 

I want that. I don't have a better way to phrase it. I want the type of relationship they have. I want a different type of man than I've always thought, and I want to be a different type of wife than I've always imagined I would be. My values have changed, and I can see the direction of my life changing along with those.

I want a man who is there to have my back, supporting me and respecting my space, one who knows how to offer me comfort and small assurances that he is a constant in my life, a man who I can admire and respect because he has chosen what he wanted for himself, and then pursued it. Most importantly, I want a man whose heart belongs to God. This is what I could see as the base of my sister and brother in law's relationship. They both have a heart for God, and He is the center of their relationship. Sitting next to them in church I could feel their love for each other, and the way they are held above water through their conjoined love for God. I want this.

Many more Blessings than before-
     Emily