Happy Birthday Emily Anne Tarter!

Throughout Desiring God, John Piper makes it very clear that God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him. I have thought of this phrase quite a bit lately—particularly in regard to its parallels with my marriage. I praise God the most when I am most joyful and content in my relationship with Him. When God makes me most happy and I am enjoying the glories of Calvary, His worth is magnified in me. Likewise, as I ponder how to make the most of my wife on her 22^nd birthday, I intend to simply proclaim the joy I have in her. For it is in the expression of my joy and satisfaction in Emily that I can show to all who read how incredible she is!

Emily turns 22 tomorrow, June 26^th. Every year her birthday is a time of fun and relaxation for us both. We take a few days off work and do something out of the ordinary. Last year, we went to Duluth—it was a marvelous time. This year, however, we do not have the funds to do anything “out of the ordinary,” with the exception of a few days off work. Of course, I have some plans that I cannot disclose at this time, but for the most part we are staying home and enjoying each other. And oh how excited we are!!! At the end of the day when I get done with work (or whatever I am doing) and I think about the evening, I get an instantaneous feeling of gratification just knowing it will be spent with my wife. I absolutely love just being with her—and this 4-day weekend will be filled with “just being together.”

I want to make it plain however—before you jump to conclusions—that this is not an extension of the “newly-wed” bliss that young married couples often feel. Emily and I have been married for 2 and half years, and although this is a relatively short amount of time, it is more than enough to know that the honeymoon is over. In fact, I would say (and Emily would concur) that the first year of marriage was by far the hardest we’ve had. It took 1 day after the honeymoon for me to realize that I couldn’t spend my time doing whatever I please whenever I please (I was dumb). It took a couple weeks for me to get tired of “snuggling” at night—I was used to my own bed and sleeping on my schedule. It took 6 months for financial troubles to occur, causing many fights and much distress. Throughout all these times, there was little joy.

Now is a much different story. It’s not that all these things have completely changed (especially our financial situation), but our hearts have changed—my heart has changed. By God’s grace I’ve learned that I am to love Emily as Christ loves the Church, and in my pleading for help from my Father, He has transformed the way I look at Emily. I now count it pure joy whenever I can spend time with Emily. I enjoy simply watching her mannerisms in every situation, and even have to refrain from smiling because she is so unbelievably cute when frustrated and annoyed. I can now even proclaim that I can’t stand it when Emily is NOT in bed with me—and she is the one who has to tell me to stop “snuggling” when I get overbearing! The Lord has blessed Emily and me to find joy in our marriage through the fellowship of “just being together,” and I am therefore oozing with excitement to serve Emily in every way possible this weekend. I have so much more that I wanted to say (in particular all the mannerisms and expressions of Emily that me feel such joy), but I have to leave my current post and pick Emily up from work. But I am not disappointed, because I get to be with her! Happy Birthday Emily!