Gratitude

From Donald Miller's book To Own a Dragon

The chapter is about girls. Miller's friend asked him if he felt he deserved to be in a relationship with a female. Miller thought it a strange question and explained so in his hilariously quirky way!

His friend went on to say that he had concluded that he didn't deserve his wife. He found it incredible that she chose to spend the rest of her life with him. His friend said he was grateful.

Miller's friend went on to say that often we use other people and romantic stuff to validate ourselves. True love involves gratitude and being overwhelmed that another person chose to share life together.

Miller summed up the chapter by wondering if love from ego versus love from the heart signalled a transition to maturity.

I began to tell Danna about what I felt was this incredible insight from the book. I started to get choked up! As I explained the words I wrote above, I began to cry and I made her cry. It is incredibly humbling to realize she chose to share life with me. I don't deserve my Angel. I call her that because she is an Angel. Yes, we have our struggles but she loves me in spite of myself. I am in awe of our relationship.

I also told her that it is so much different than my previous marriage, thankfully!! Anybody that has heard me talk about that phase of my life has heard me readily admit I made many mistakes. One big one was being too immature to get married in the first place. I was mature from a worldly, having my goals which drove me, point of view. I didn't have the maturity or the humility to know I needed God. Life was about me. I wasn't grateful.

God saw me through my immaturity. I haven't arrived, by any means. However, he has blessed me tremendously with a wonderful woman who is truly my Angel!!

After we both cried for awhile, I said a line I have said a lot. "I have become my Mom!!" I was puzzled as a kid why she cried when she was happy. It made no sense to me at all!! Now, it DOES!!!!