This past year and a half has been… something else. I can’t even begin to tell you how much growth I’ve witnessed occur in each of us individually, and in our relationship as a whole. As 2015 comes to an end, I want to tell you something I don’t think I’ve made entirely clear throughout the duration of our friendship: I don’t care. As far as I am concerned, you are the man I am going to fall asleep next to every night and wake up beside every morning. You are the person I am going to share countless holidays, birthday parties, awkward supermarket encounters, and so much more with. There are a surplus of details about you that I will love just as much when you’re standing in front of me in a black tuxedo as I will when you’re sitting across the living room from me with wrinkled smile lines as well, which is why I need to make something very clear: I don’t care. I don’t care if you gain or lose 10 pounds in a year. I don’t care about your GPA. I don’t care how many “likes” you get. I don’t care how much money you’ll make. I don’t care what car you’ll drive. Because something I’ve learned throughout my life – and more so emphasized during my first semester at college- is that these things won’t last. Your weight will be fickle throughout your lifetime. Your GPA, although I might make it seem like your entire pride and joy is fostered by this 2 to 3-digit decimal number, will not matter in the grand scheme of things when we’re seventy and decrepit. I can’t emphasize enough how absent my interest is within your social status, because let’s be real… it just doesn’t matter. I don’t care if you drive a brand new car of your dad’s old Ford, because cars will break down and I am certain we will both be seeing our fair share of cars together. Money is irrelevant because it will never determine your character, and it can easily be lost or tripled. Money changes. Looks change. I do not and will not love you for any of these reasons. I will continue to care about how you treat people, regardless if they deserve kindness or not. I will continue to care that you’ve submitted your own agenda to God and that you make a conscious daily effort live your life through His heart. I will continue to care and adore your good sense of humor, because comedy is consistent. I will continue to care if you have enough humility to be able to laugh at yourself and brush off the little things. Ten years from now, I will care about how you act after a long day. If you yell or if you pray. I will care how you handle adversity and how you handle power. If you are confident in yourself through Him. If you are bold in your faith and your love for others. I will care what kind of dad you will be, which I am entirely at ease knowing you’ll be a phenomenal one. I’m sure you’re well aware of what I’m trying to indicate here; these are the things that don’t fade. These are the things that I dwell on when I think about spending the rest of my life with you. I care about your proven unrelenting loyalty, how quick you are to forgive others, and how you constantly seek to improve both yourself and the environment around you. You put others’ feelings before your own without giving it a second thought, and have never requested anything in return. Your actions have never failed to speak louder than your words. These are the traits that have me thanking God for your parents and them instilling these characteristics into your moral code and raising the man they did, and these are the traits I pray my future son will inherit one day. I am thankful for how much work God has done in our relationship, and so unbelievably excited for a future with you. Whether it’s for a year or a lifetime, (I’m actively praying for the second one) I am excited to grow alongside you and experience new adventures with you while embracing God’s plan for our future and knowing He will provide in due time. Thank you for protecting my heart this past year and demonstrating the utmost patience with me, even from almost 2,000 miles away. You are kind. You are intelligent (and worryingly impressive when it comes to television game shows) and thoughtful. Your character will always overwhelm any superficiality, and it is by far your greatest attribute. I am looking forward to a future – whatever it may look like – with you.
From my heart to yours
a letter to the man i plan on marrying
