Birthday Festivities as a (Blessed) Married Woman

My Golden Birthday

David had been asking for the past couple of weeks whether or not I was excited for my birthday this year. In all honesty, my birthday isn't one of my favorite days of the year. In fact, September in general is not what I would call the best month. There have been some hard things that have happened in September in the past, and so usually I am actually relieved once September is over and I've made it through alive! As September comes to a close, I feel very thankful for this incredible month of married life with my husband.

David Graef managed to single-handedly pull off the best birthday I've ever experienced. It all started as soon as I came home from work. David had made sure that I agreed to walk home but not go IN the house until he was there with me. So, because he finishes school a little later than I finish school on Wednesdays, I walked home verrrrrry slooooooowly so that by the time I arrived at home he would be arriving too. It worked out nicely! When we opened the front door to our little studio, I was in shock. I didn't know exactly what to expect - but what I didn't expect was that David had come home a couple hours earlier during his lunch break and had completely decorated the house with lights, birthday banners, and everything! On the floor in the middle of our colorful rug was a pile of neatly wrapped presents! He went ALL OUT. I was so impressed with 1) his sneakiness and 2) how beautifully he decorated and then wrapped the gifts! If I didn't already believe I had married the most amazing, thoughtful man in the world, then NOW it was 100% clear to me! I opened the presents one by one, with David insisting that one particular gift be kept for the last. David had given me a couple of books that I had shown interest in reading, a pair of cute yellow flats that I had eyed at the store the other day, a huge bar of chocolate, and a Moody Bible Institute water bottle which he had scrawled all over happy birthday wishes and other sweet comments in permanent marker (that was the gift that got my crying haha). It was quite overwhelming! When I had opened all of the previous gifts, David then told me that I was allowed to open the last one. Lo and behold, in the package there was a Canon Rebel camera! I have always been interested in photography, but never really imagined that I would one day own a nice camera! Well, David went beyond my imagination and really, it shows how well he knows me because this was one of the most perfect (and unexpected!) gifts that I have ever received! I was totally taken back, and after interrogating David and making sure that he didn't spend every cent of our savings on me, the reality and excitement began to set in! I have a new camera! And it takes beautiful photos! I am sure you will all see many of them posted up here!

As if this wasn’t enough, the next thing I knew, David was walking out of the kitchen holding a big chocolate cake topped with 25 brightly burning candles! Okay, maybe I'm just completely biased, but who else's husband has a cake for their wife on her birthday!?!? That was unheard of to me! After singing the best rendition of "Happy Birthday" that I have ever heard, David had me make a wish and blow out the candles. It was perfect! I felt so spoiled - like a princess.

David explained that we needed to leave in about 15 minutes in order to make it to our first destination of the night. So, 15 minutes later, we headed downstairs to the bus stop and hopped on a bus that took us to… Navy Pier - one of my dream destinations! We spent the afternoon cruising around the pier, feeding the little sparrows from our packed lunches, and riding the beautiful, scenic ferris wheel! It was quite magical! Chicago's weather was perfect that day as well - not too hot and not too cold, and perfectly clear out.

After our leisurely afternoon at Navy Pier, David informed me that our second destination of the night was at the Copernicus Center where SWITCHFOOT was having a concert! Yes, I got to see Switchfoot for my birthday. It was amazing! Jon Foreman is one of those guys that sound exactly the same in concert as he does in his album. We heard "Dare You to Move," "The Shadow Proves the Sunshine," "Hello, Hurricane," and "Where I Belong," along with many others (those were our favorites). Awesome!
Well, all of this just goes to show you ladies out there, that Prince Charming does exist! Trust that God really is creating the PERFECT man for you - and when I say perfect, I don't mean that HE is perfect, but that he is PERFECT for YOU! God created David to be exactly the husband that I need him to be, not the perfect husband, not the husband that will ONE DAY be perfect for me, but the husband that is perfect for me where I am and with who I am RIGHT NOW! And man, do I feel completely surrounded and encompassed by His goodness by that! I am breathing in and breathing out God's goodness and grace! They say that marriage brings out the worst in us, and unfortunately that can be true, but marriage also brings out the BEST of our GOD.

My David

David Graef, I love you. You are perfect for me yesterday, today, tomorrow, and forever.

~Randie Megan