Eight Cows

Well, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, this is the last week I'll be writing to you as Bekah Freelan. I'm a billion times excited to get married, but it is so strange to realize that this week is actually HERE. Know what I mean? You wait and wait and wait to get married and then it actually happens and you think...wait...is this really my life?

So I thought in honor of our upcoming wedding, I'd write a few thoughts I've had about the conclusion of this season in my life. Might take me all week. Hey. It's been a 34 year season. I'm allowed a week, don't you think?

Last year, I wrote this blog post about the eight cow wife. Go check it out if you don't know the story of the eight cow wife, because it sounds really strange if you don't know what it is.

Anyway. I prayed to be an eight cow wife. I hoped to be an eight cow wife. But I'll be really honest with you. I wasn't sure the eight cow kind of husband was out there. I really wasn't.

Were there still the kind of men who had that great blend of good old fashioned chivalry and a gut-busting sense of humor? The kind of men who weren't afraid to lead well and yet at the same time were willing to be vulnerable about their own weaknesses?

I was convinced such men did not really exist.

But they do.

This past week as I continued to prepare my heart and mind to become a wife, I spent a lot of time reflecting on Ryan's character. I'm continually amazed at (and sometimes struggle to accept graciously) the way he treats me.

The way he's made me an eight cow wife.

The way he has jumped, headfirst, into the massive task of teaching me that I have that kind of worth. The way he takes care of me and yet embraces the ideas and gifts I bring into our relationship. The way he wants to spend time with me. The way he wants to talk about our relationship and not deny that it exists. The way he pushes me to be more than I even see I can be...and yet at the same time never makes me feel less than whole the way I am.

I want to write this whole thing to him right here, so you can know all the things that have made this dream come true for me. Alas, most of the things I'd say are in my vows and I'm trying to keep that eight page essay (just kidding) (kind of) a secret until the wedding.

But I'm so thankful. This is more than I ever hoped to know. And if you're where I was in my original blog post...if you're still waiting and wondering, I beg you to keep persevering. I don't know when God will bring someone to make you an eight cow wife, but I can assure you He still makes men of that caliber. And if you're one of the guys that hangs out here - married or not married - I beg you to be that kind of guy.