A man worth loving...

A few nights ago, I stayed up much later than I should have re-reading the last Harry Potter book. (Yes, again.) As I was drifting off to sleep, stretching my leg across our way-too-big bed to nudge Micah's toes with mine, I thought about a conversation I had in high school with one of my spiritual heroes.

She shared something with me that honestly defined the way I have approached every relationship I've been in since then. First, she quoted Proverbs 4:23, which says to "[g]uard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." And then she told me to make sure that, when I give my heart away, I give it to a man who is worth loving.

After that conversation, I took a long, hard look at my past relationships and realized that I'd never considered how precious it was to let someone have a piece of my heart. I'd been giving it away without considering the consequences. And even though I always tended to date sweet, good-hearted guys, from that point forward I was a bit more cautious in who I dated.
It wasn't long after that that I started dating Micah.

And the bottom line of this post is that Micah is, without a doubt, a man worth loving.

He's a man worth giving my heart to.

As I was laying there next to him the other night, in awe of God's grace, I wondered how many women can honestly say that about their husbands. I wondered how many women value their heart enough to guard it. To give it away only to a man who is worthy.

Because I look at Micah and know that there's no way that I could find a more worthy man - not only because of the way he treats me but because of how he treats others.

I know that the old lady who was able to park two spots closer to the store because Micah backed up and re-parked to make sure he didn't park his truck too close to the line appreciated him. And I know the store clerk who didn't have to walk the packages of cookies I decided I didn't want all the way back to the right aisle because Micah made me put them back myself appreciated him - even if he never had any clue that they were gone. And I bet that the guy in the car next to us on the highway appreciated that Micah missed his own exit so that he didn't have to cut in front of someone else to get to it.

I feel blessed to be with that kind of man. The kind of man who really does make the world, particularly my little corner of it, a better place.

So, although I haven't seen Shelly in years, this one's for her. This is a big thank you for reminding me, all those years ago, that my heart is a precious commodity and that only a man worth loving deserves it.