Valentine Thoughts for Devon

Devon is my oldest son.  He's 25 years old.

I respect the man that Devon chooses to be.  He is a man of integrity who holds fast to his values.

Photo from http://somethingswedish.wordpress.com

He loves our county and wants to serve.  He graduated with honors from USMA Westpoint in May 2010.  He branched infantry and is currently working as an executive officer at Fort Brag in North Carolina.  He spent 9 month in Afghanistan but hasn't really talked much about it. I respect that he sincerely believes in duty, honor, and country.

I admire the way he's handled some disappointments that he's encountered in both his career and personal life.  Some rather major things did not go as planned with regard to his career with the army.  Three years ago his wife of a few months decided not to be married after all. No matter how much he tried to encourage her not to, she filed for divorce. I admire that when these things happened he chose not to wallow in self pity.  He didn't deny his pain, he just chose to move forward.  He chose to believe that through it all God has a plan and he can trust God even when he doesn't understand.

I'm grateful that recently God has blessed Devon with a wonderful woman named Rachel.  Rachel is like a burst of sunshine.  She's got a smile that takes up her whole face and lights up any room she walks into.  She's intelligent, funny, musical, friendly, and gracious.  She loves God and wants to do what is right.  She's pretty in a way that has nothing to do with fashion and everything to do with who she is on the inside. The best part is that she's obviously crazy about Devon.

I adore watching how Devon is with Rachel.  He respects her.   He always opens her door.  When we visited my other son and his girlfriend at Christmas time they assumed that Devon and Rachel would share a room.  Devon didn't say anything but I couldn't help but notice that he joined me out on the couches in the living room that night.  He listens to her.  Devon is one of the most intelligent, well informed, and opinionated people who I know.  Sometimes he can get a bit intense and perhaps not be as sensitive to others as would be best. Rachael softens Devon.  They're good together.

Valentine's day is about love.  My husband and sons are my heart.  With the approach of Valentine's day I'm filled with thoughts of love and gratitude for Devon.