Dreaming of my Prince....Before I had met him!

Four year old Todd Douglas Sapp

Todd Douglas Sapp

My husband has a milestone birthday on Thursday!  Yup, my husband is turning 50 years old!  That seems quite unbelievable.  In fact, when we ask strangers how old they think Todd is, they almost always guess that he is in his 30s.  A few months ago, Todd and I were out to eat and he was actually carded!  Someone thought he might be under 21.  That totally made his night!  It's hard for me to fathom that he could be turning 50.  But, I suppose that has something to do with the fact that I am 36.  Yup, my husband and I are 13 years apart.  And, we both had to live through an awful lot of life before finding each other.  There are times we notice that we were raised in different decades.  Little pieces of trivia pop up that we expect each other to know and are surprised when we don't.  But, those things are trivial.  They don't matter.  We are soul mates and we cherish our days together.      
      I had to wait 30 years before I met the man of my dreams.  I was praying for Todd years and years before I met him.  I was dreaming of the man God had chosen for me long before that man was free and available and ready to be loved by me.  I had to be patient and wait for God's perfect timing.  And, that was hard.  In 2002, about five years before I met Todd, I wrote about my hopes and dreams for my future husband.  I love reading it now and seeing all the ways my dreams came true through Todd.  I thank God every day for bringing me my wonderful husband.  I never, ever want to take him for granted.  So, here is what I wrote:

Jesus Is My King....I'm Dreaming of My Prince

(written in July of 2002)

     I am going to marry the most amazing man!  He will be amazing in my eyes.  I will look at him with admiration and love.  I will be inspired by him and encouraged by him and accepted the way I am - Jennifer Ann!  Our eyes will light up when the other walks into the room.  Together we will do wonderful things.

     My husband and I will skip!

     Perhaps we'll watch lightning storms and then lightning storms will be something special instead of something to be afraid of.  We will go for hikes and bike rides.  We'll look at the stars and watch sunsets.  We'll travel together all over the country or world.  We'll see new places and do new things - together!

     We'll read books together and then discuss them.  We'll read the Bible aloud to each other.  We can memorize scriptures together and help keep each other accountable in remembering those scriptures.  

     Perhaps he'll play guitar or piano and we can sing together.  we can praise our Lord together in song.  We can attend concerts together and listen to great music.  

     We will be prayer partners - for life!  I want to pray every day with my husband.  We'll pray about everything.  I can hardly wait to see God in action!

     We can do good things together like helping others - we'll be involved in church together.  Perhaps we'll go visit the elderly together or help with Vacation Bible Schools.  We'll play with kids together.  Perhaps he'll read books to kids and they'll all be around - each one wanting to sit on our laps.

     My husband and I will laugh a lot.  We'll laugh so hard together that it will make me cry.  My husband will think I'm funny.  He'll love the way my eyes glow when I'm happy.  I'll love the way his smile lights up his whole face.

     My husband can help me when I'm not so brave.  He'll kill all the spiders and get rid of mouse traps and he'll fix the cars and help put up storm windows and screens.  He'll love to mow the lawn and while he's mowing I'll be making him a special dessert - perhaps chocolate cake is his favorite too, or brownies, or pies?  I'll do special things for my husband.

     Everyday I will tell my husband I love him.  I will not let a day pass when I do not tell him I love him.  When he's away and we can only talk by phone, I'll tell him I love him right over the telephone.  He and I will talk about everything.  When I'm sad, he'll listen and he'll say what's right.  We'll pray about each struggle.  We'll be flexible and we'll make compromises.  My husband will respect me and adore me and delight in making me happy.  I will delight in making him happy and together we'll just be the cutest, smilyest, happiest couple around!

     Jesus Christ will be at the center of our marriage.  That's one of the biggest reasons why I'm so excited to marry my prince - through my prince I will better get to know my King.  We will learn from one another, encourage one another, and grow together closer to Jesus.  What could be better?

     I'm praying for my prince.  I'm praying that God is preparing him for our life together.  I'm praying that wherever he is, he is close to Jesus.  I'm praying that God will send him to me soon and that he will be the kind of prince that will pursue my heart with integrity, grace, and unconditional love.  May Jesus be his role model.   Amen

Mr. and Mrs. Todd Douglas Sapp (in 2013)