Lead Me

Almost a month ago, on June 29th, Daniel and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary!! And although this is a very special date, I will always celebrate "us"on May 19th as well. That was the day that Daniel decided to fight for "us", for our marriage, for his relationship with God and his son, Chaz. June 29th, 2002 would mean nothing if May 19, 2007 hadn't happened.
Having said all that, I am so thankful that I am married to Daniel Norton. He is exactly what I should have asked for if I'd known what I needed at the age of 21; for the rest of my life. I have lots of friends married to godly husbands who are all great men that I admire, BUT, my Daniel is exactly perfect for me and I think I got the best out of them all!!! I also say this in the shadow of two of my friends' marriages ending. One is recently divorced and the other has filed. My friends are growing Christians and their husbands are not even Christians. I see first hand the difficulties of being unequally yoked, and how God's wisdom is shown in His warnings to His children. But I ache for my friends, and even their (ex) husbands who consistently live a life of sin and a life that hurts/destroys their wife and children. This makes me even more grateful for a husband who DID and continues to fight "for us" and his relationship with God.
Several months ago we got the new Sanctus Real cd and were listening to it on the way home one night. The song "Lead Me" came on and immediately it caught my attention. As I listened to the words, I started crying, trying to "suck it up" until I looked over at Daniel; who was also crying. I love that boy and the life we live together; a life of ministry, of family and of love. Here's the lyrics...you should find the song and listen when you get a chance:

I look around and see my wonderful life
Almost perfect from the outside
In picture frames I see my beautiful wife
Always smiling
But on the inside, I can hear her saying...

“Lead me with strong hands
Stand up when I can't
Don't leave me hungry for love
Chasing dreams, what about us?

Show me you're willing to fight
That I'm still the love of your life
I know we call this our home
But I still feel alone”

I see their faces, look in their innocent eyes
They're just children from the outside
I'm working hard, I tell myself they'll be fine
They're independent
But on the inside, I can hear them saying...

“Lead me with strong hands
Stand up when I can't
Don't leave me hungry for love
Chasing dreams, but what about us?

Show me you're willing to fight
That I'm still the love of your life
I know we call this our home
But I still feel alone”

So Father, give me the strength
To be everything I'm called to be
Oh, Father, show me the way
To lead them
Won't You lead me?

To lead them with strong hands
To stand up when they can't
Don't want to leave them hungry for love,
Chasing things that I could give up

I'll show them I'm willing to fight
And give them the best of my life
So we can call this our home
Lead me, 'cause I can't do this alone

Father, lead me, 'cause I can't do this alone