What keeps you young?

Dan’s birthday is today. He is 60-some years young. We were with two different sets of family in two different locations this past week. A rousing chorus of Happy Birthday was sung in both places. And it dawned on me what keeps Dan so young.

See if you notice what I noticed in this photo.

Yep, he’s the one at the bottom of the pile of grandkids.

He’s the one who showed the toddler that off-roading is more fun than riding on pavement.

He’s the one who’s up for an adventure, no matter how big or small the bike is.

But there’s more to Dan than being the over-sized kid at heart.

Friedrich Nietzsche, a philosopher who lived in the 1800s, wrote something that reminds me of my husband:

The essential thing in heaven and earth is that there should be a long obedience in the same direction …

This is Dan. He is a solid, steady, determined man. He’s the guy you can count on. Always.

Back in the day when I had officially decided to quit dating, my daughter Summer encouraged me not to shut down my heart:

I think God is going to surprise you with someone completely unexpected. And I can’t wait to meet him. He’s going to make you laugh until you cry, he’ll be the one saying, ‘Let’s go on an adventure.’ And you won’t be able to keep up.

Pretty sure God answered her prayer by sending Dan my way.

There is a short passage in the book of Matthew, chapter 10, that comes to mind when I think about God’s involvement in the love story of Dan and me:

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. — verses 29-31

Is that mind-boggling or what?

Not one single bird falls to the ground without God knowing about it.

Not one single hair falls into our hairbrushes without God re-numbering all that’s left.

And if God cares about these tiny details, how much more does He care about the fine points of how Dan and I connected, and all the elements of our love story as it grew and blossomed, and how if one or two of the tiniest of details had taken the slightest left turn, then we wouldn’t have met.

Mind-boggling, right? That God has the hairs on our heads numbered and the freckles on our faces numbered, that He’s written the best love stories with us in mind.

And then there’s this profound thought from another great philosopher, Maxine:

Don’t get all weird about getting older. Our age is merely the number of years the world has been enjoying us.

Happy birthday to my husband. So grateful for the number of years I’ve been enjoying you—all two of them.

P.S.

Pretty sure it was Dan who encouraged the toddler to enjoy the water puddles while we still have them. Because life is short.