The Sweetest Mother's Day Gift!

I saw it today for the first time in years. The light in her eyes finally escaped its sullen shadow. And it’s because of you, but you wouldn’t take the credit.

She joked with me today, and I saw a girl I only spotted in glimpses months before.

I joked back, and she didn’t get defensive. Because you don’t make her feel like she’s under attack.

She smiles just to smile. Because she’s happy. Because she wants to. Not to hide her pain or to convince me she’s OK.

She is slowly but surely becoming unbroken. And it’s because of you.

RELATED: The Best People Are the Broken Ones

You are showing her how to trust again. You are showing her she is enough.

You are cleaning up the mess he made, little by little.

You are the man after the monster.

It’s not a title you asked for. It’s not recognition you need, it’s the raw truth.

You are not her savior, and you don’t claim to be. But she chose you, and you draw her out of herself. Away from her past, away from her pain.

And every day you choose her.

Over the hard. Over the messy.

Out of love.

Because you see something she can’t yet. You know someday she’ll be whole again.

You didn’t ask for this job, to live in his shadow. Sometimes she shies away from you because she forgets to turn on the light. After a while of living in the darkness, all the shadows look the same and she gets scared.

But you’re showing her how to turn on the light.

And when she finds it, all the fear, all the insecurities, all the broken pieces melt away.

RELATED: The Healer of Our Hurts Creates Beauty From Brokenness

Then she comes back to you.

And she always will.

Because you’re her safe place.

You’re the man after the monster.

So God Made a Grandmother book by Leslie Means

If you liked this, you'll love our book, SO GOD MADE A GRANDMA

Order Now!

Amber Watson

I am an adoptive mother from the sunny state of Florida but my heart feels most at home in the mountains. I am married to my high school sweetheart and we have three children and two dogs. I am a lover of the arts and find myself most at peace among the work of our Creator. I aim to share relatable content through the lens of hope in Christ to help others feel seen in the silent struggles of life.

I Still Can’t Believe You’re Mine

In: Marriage
Man and woman dressed up dancing

I still can’t believe you’re mine. Lately, I’ve found myself reflecting on how far we’ve come—two babies, multiple moves, and the weight of a world that hasn’t always been kind. There were seasons when things felt uncertain. Seasons when growth hurt. Seasons when staying required more strength than leaving ever would have. I know not everyone believed we would make it this far. But it was always you. God was leading me to you long before I understood it. In ways I couldn’t see at the time, He was writing a story bigger than my fears, bigger than my doubts,...

Keep Reading

True Love Is Built In the Moments No One Sees

In: Marriage
Two pinkies hooked with wedding rings

There is nothing simple about raising a medically complex child. We carry emergency plans the way others carry wallets. Med lists are memorized. Hospital routes are second nature. We measure time in seizures, appointments, medication schedules, and recovery windows. Early Monday morning, after our 10-year-old autistic son was sedated for stitches following a seizure fall, he was sick. My husband held him upright while he vomited. I grabbed towels, trying to catch what I could. We moved in sync—no discussion, no drama, just instinct and practice. And I thought about our marriage. It isn’t glitz and glamour. It’s not candlelit...

Keep Reading

We Fall In Love a Million Times

In: Marriage
Man kissing woman on forehead

Recently, I read a picture book to my children titled Would I Trade My Parents? The book is about a little boy who wishes he could exchange his parents for his friends’ parents. But in the end, he remembers all the amazing things his parents do for him and realizes he wouldn’t trade them after all. He knows they’re the best. After reading this book, my immediate thought was there should be a book for couples called Would I Trade My Partner? Because while we can’t trade our children (or our parents), we most certainly can trade our spouses if we really...

Keep Reading

As a Newly-Single Mom, I’m Learning How To Parent Alone

In: Marriage, Motherhood
Mother with little girl on piggyback walking down road

I have four beautiful children. Each of them is unique, full of purpose, and wonderfully made by God. Being their mom is my greatest joy and my biggest challenge. As a newly single mom, the normal things of adolescence I used to have help governing are now much more difficult to navigate. I constantly worry my unhealed trauma is going to spill out onto my kids and mess them up. Who’s with me? I have teenage daughters. That fact in and of itself is frightening. It is so easy to let them down. I try to meet them where they...

Keep Reading

My Husband Is By My Side Through Every Storm

In: Grief, Marriage
Man with arm around woman's chair

The year 2025 began as a quiet storm. I was slipping into the fog of depression while navigating the early chaos of perimenopause, and some days simply getting out of bed felt impossible. My thoughts felt dark and heavy, my body unfamiliar, my energy nonexistent, and my moods uncontrollable. And yet, in the haze, there was one constant: my husband. He noticed the subtle shifts I barely acknowledged. The sighs, the quiet retreats into myself, the moments I almost broke. Instead of judgment or frustration, he offered presence. He held space for my struggle without trying to “fix” it, and...

Keep Reading

The Love Story Built on Paper and Perseverance

In: Living, Marriage
woman sits on floor with papers spread around her

I still remember the nights when our living room floor disappeared beneath piles of forms, envelopes, and government instructions. I sat cross-legged on the carpet, trying to make sense of words that felt more complicated than they needed to be, holding papers that determined our future in ways I could hardly process. My husband sat nearby, both of us tired, both of us learning patience one page at a time. This was the part of our love story no one prepares you for. Not the dreamy beginning, not the pretty milestones, but the long, exhausting middle. The part filled with...

Keep Reading

Even When Marriage Is Good, It Can Leave You Exhausted

In: Marriage
Couple on beach, man kisses woman's forehead

I love my husband, John. He’s kind and funny, smart and, most importantly, he’s committed to our life together. He works hard every day to be there for our family. He doesn’t want me to carry more than my share. But I am tired in a way that sleep can’t restore. There’s an inherent weariness that’s accumulated quietly over the years by doing what needed to be done without little, if any, notice. From the outside looking in, our marriage looks rock-steady and functional. That’s because in many ways, it is. We meet our responsibilities and manage our schedules. You...

Keep Reading

I Know Good Fathers Exist—Because I’m Married To One

In: Marriage
Father holding young child, side photo

When I found out I was pregnant in college, I was afraid to share the news with my then-boyfriend (now-husband). I was afraid because when my biological dad found out my mom was pregnant, he left. His parents wanted me aborted. His family wanted him to walk away. In the end, my dad chose himself. He didn’t choose me. He didn’t fight for me. He didn’t protect my life. I was afraid to share the news of my pregnancy because I thought my husband would leave too. He was told by some to have me abort our baby or to...

Keep Reading

I Love the Man Behind the Beard

In: Marriage
Smiling man with beard scruff driving car

My husband, John, had sideburns and a mustache when we were married. And I loved them. He grew the first beard because he could. It was during our first weeks as a married couple, back in 1972, and the Navy had permitted enlisted members to have facial hair. They all pretty much had to grow beards, just on principle. I remember looking over at him as we drove to Homestead, Florida, where we were stationed, and seeing the romantic, tortured face of Richard Harris from the movie Camelot and a suave, tuxedoed Robert Goulet smiling across the car at me...

Keep Reading

Dear Husband, Let’s Chase a Love That Still Chooses

In: Marriage
Husband and wife laughing in living room

They pass each other in the hallway, coffee in one hand, keys in the other. One is coming home while the other is heading out. A kiss at the door, a tired smile, a promise to catch up later. Their love, once stretched across endless evenings and unhurried laughter, now fits into the small spaces between schedules and alarms. They both work hard, not because they love the distance, but because they are building a life together. Yet sometimes it feels like the life they are building is pulling them apart. Conversations happen through text messages and quick calls on...

Keep Reading