I want to spend the rest of my life making you happy….

When my husband (long before the marriage) uttered those well-meaning words he had no idea what he was getting himself into. Things are very different in the dreamy world of starry eyed young love, when your biggest dilemma is which movie to see, than in the trenches of marriage where the concerns tend more to dirty diapers, laundry, and overdue bills. His knowledge of my temperament at the time was that I smiled broadly every time he entered the room, and so I was extraordinarily easy to please. And I couldn’t have been more pleased to know that he was willing to sacrifice his own happiness for mine when the two conflict (which of course would not be often, I was sure). 

Fast forward 10 years later. Our days filled with work, kids activities and stress. That promise of living to make me happy seemed all but forgotten. Forgotten by him at least, certainly not by me. I hung it over his head every chance I got. Of course I was no longer pleased solely at his presence. In fact, when he walked in a room I would begin to list the things that needed to be done. Basically, I am lucky he loves me so much he stayed anyway. But he didn’t have a clue how to make me happy. Then one day I learned the truth, my husband couldn’t MAKE me happy. That job was mine alone and is only accomplished through Jesus. When I discovered the joy He offered me I was overwhelmed. Now I am happy every day, because I choose to fellowship with the creator of my joy.

– Gina Brown