Today Gary and I celebrate 27 years of wedded bliss....well, not all 27 years were bliss! When you get married at 20 you tend to grow up together and that means you will have ALOT of growing pains. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, is the epitome of Gary! He lives these verses, this is who he is.
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
LOVE NEVER FAILS."
To hear Gary, he says that he had his eye on me in Kindergarten. I say yeah, me and every other little girl in our class. A lot of you see Gary as a quite individual, he is, but he hasn't always been that way. He was always the prankster, the flirt, the comedian and always in trouble with a teacher. I even had a teacher tell me our senior year of high school, "Gary Ard is not good for you". I know, for those of you who are active in our life now, that is hard to believe! Looking back at those traits, he still has them, but in a more reserved way. He is still a prankster, get him with the right people and you had better watch out! He is a flirt....with me and our girls, he wants our girls to look for a spouse who boasts on them, who lifts them up and makes them feel beautiful. He loves to see people smile, he wants them to be happy and he will do whatever it takes to make someone smile.
I have watched him weep and pray over our children for the ones on earth and the two who are in Heaven. He has wept over and prayed over kids in our youth group. He has a heart of gold, a heart of compassion and a heart for God! I am blessed beyond measure to call him my groom, my husband, my friend. What an encourager he is. I watched him this past Sunday seek out an older couple to check on them and to wish the Mrs. a happy Mother's Day. He always goes above and beyond to serve others...that is my Gary!
The past 27 years I have had the opportunity to see him grow in his faith, to love the Lord with all of his heart! He is my Priest, Protector and Provider! What an example for our son as God will be leading him to his bride in the future. What an example for our girls....good night their future mates have BIG shoes to fill!
Thank you Gary Ard for having your sites on me in Kindergarten, for choosing me as your bride, for loving me unconditionally, for loving our children and being a wonderful Daddy, for loving others...even the unloveable, for being selfless and giving, but most of all for loving God! Thank you for being 1 Corinthians 13, I am truly blessed to call you my husband!
Happy Anniversary!
I Love You!
