“I want to have a marriage just like you and Daddy, someday.”

I want my kids to say that, someday.  And no, this isn’t something you’ll be hearing soon, so just squash those rumors before they begin.

But I want my kids to say it.  And in order for them to say that, I need to show them a marriage worth imitating.  I need to show them Christ’s relationship with the church.  I need to show them Christ’s relationship with me.

In this fallen and broken world, my sinful and selfish nature wants to rule.  I am wired to do things for me, because I want to, and because I think it’s okay.  When Christ came into my heart to rule as king in my life, all of that changed.  Not my sinful human nature – no, I war against that every day.  But He took my sin and my shame and nailed it to a cross and called me to a higher place: forgiveness and grace.

He forgives me when I don’t ask for it.  He gives me second chance after second chance after second chance when I’ve screwed up twenty times over.  He covers me with a grace that I do not for one minute deserve.

And that is what He has called me to do in relationship with my husband.  That’s what He’s called me to model to my children, to the people around me – be they students or coworkers or friends.

I want to be a wife after God – one who seeks her husband’s good over her own, and one who seeks God above all.  I want to be a wife who loves unconditionally and forgives without expecting anything in return.  I want to freely give grace because it has been freely given to me.

I will not do it perfectly, but that is what I want my children to see.  Humility.  Grace.  Forgiveness.  Love.  In short, I want them to see Jesus in my marriage.