Looking back…

At a conference, I once heard a speaker tell his story about not getting married until he was 33. He said that he had written a list of characteristics he would look for when looking for a girlfriend or wife and would not date anyone until he found that one girl. The way he tells it was that his list did not just include general things, but specifics as well, and it must’ve taken God 33 years to put that girl together, but when he met her, he just knew she was The One. Anyway, I wrote this list a few weeks after a break-up with a guy who definitely did NOT exemplify these characteristics. I wasn’t saying that the next guy I dated had to have all these things, and of course, some of them are just perks. I was just so over dating that I wasn’t going to date again until I found the guy I was going to marry, so I better figure out what I’m looking for. So here it is:

He will…
Love God and love his family.
Appreciate my acts of service.
Sing, play piano, or play guitar.
Kiss me on the forehead.
Rub my back.
Love my photography.
Cry with me.
Laugh with me and make me laugh.
Make me cry, laughing so hard.
Love kids.
Get along GREAT with my brother, Cameron.
Love the chaos of family gatherings.
Buy flowers for my mom.
Tell me I’m beautiful, especially when I don’t feel it.
Have a heart for mission work and adoption.
Live sitting around, talking with family and friends.
Buy me colored roses, not just the red ones.
Lead me spiritually, as I lead him.
Understand my dad’s sense of humor and egg him on when he’s on a roll.
Write me notes for no other reason than to say “I love you.”
Not go to sleep angry.
Pray with me and pray for me.
Love having lots of people around.
Desire more out of life than what money can buy.
Plan surprises for me, even little ones.
Appreciate the “little things” and do them in return.
Love me in comfy pants and a sweatshirt.

It’s suitable that the comfy pants comment is last because it is perhaps the most important if only for the fact that I work in scrubs and if I’m not in scrubs, I’m usually in some form of sweatpants, pajama pants, yoga pants, or another similar substitute.