To Bear witness of you

As I think about marriage and my husband, I realize that we all just want to be seen and heard, to be remembered, and to matter. Many of us are not famous, never stood out, and perhaps were even somewhere in between the first and last born, hoping that mom and dad would give us as much attention.

Marriage holds the assurance that you get seen, that you matter, that you are not forgotten, and get the attention you need. At least, that is the idea and hope, if not the reality, that is made clear with having kids, a job, having a home to run, and life in general happening. Regardless, in marriage, you are more.

I am more than just a daughter, a friend, a sister. I am one of a kind for they who can have only one. I am a wife, the wife. I am a husband, the husband. I am not just a, or the, but his or hers, YOURS! So much am I yours that I now carry your name. So much so that we are now Mr. & Mrs., one and the same name!

They say women are complicated, but let me make it simple: Love me. I mean give me forehead kisses before you leave, call or text me over lunch, come home longing to share your day with me, and I don't mean in one or two words but in too much detail like what was he wearing. Yes, because I am not everyone or anyone else. I am yours, and you are mine, one and the same name, and I am here to bear witness of you.

I am the front row center audience to your life story and am available to hear about even the mundane like toilet experiences or the nasty things you picked out from between your toes. I am not one of the boys, nor are you one of the girls. I am THE ONE. Grant me that privilege and watch me stand and applaud you with each scene. My applause may not be a loud standing ovation but a smile from across the room, a kiss floating through the wind that cuts across any distance that may be between us, a hug to hold you together when you feel you are falling apart, or the intimate secret sighs and moans of me as we make love.

My love, mine is to bear witness of you—the highs, the lows, the wins, and the losses—and to even be your critic. It is not in the hopes of you shutting down and packing up but in the knowledge of how much better I know you are and can be.

Never for a moment think that I will stand up and leave, for even though I may be tired, frustrated, or drift off, I vowed to be here, to bear witness of you until the day the curtain comes down.

Don’t go looking to be the world to everyone when you are my world. I see you. Let that be enough. Though I may see you behind half-shut eyes, or though I may look at you differently, though I may look away for but a moment, rest assured, I am here to bear witness of you. I do, and I will, until the final curtain. When that day comes, know still that I will testify of you to your children and childrens children, that they will know and you will be remembered untill we meet again.

Song of Songs 2:16

My lover is mine, and I am his. Nightly he strolls in our garden, Delighting in the flowers until dawn breathes its light and night slips away.