Boyfriend Appreciation Post: Thank God for Conflict Resolution

Valentine's Day is definitely over, but that's okay because love should be celebrated every day. I think days like Valentine's Day are meant for us to make sure that we take a step back and really acknowledge the love we do have in our lives, but like what most guys (including Darell) tend to say, it really is only just a day. If you're doing it right, you're appreciating your loved ones every day of the year. 
& that's what this post is about. I just want to take some time to appreciate Darell on a normal day for no other reason than "just because." 
Over the last few months while I transitioned from California to here in Australia, I hit a lot of road blocks, but through it all Darell was my biggest supporter, my biggest cheerleader. He always encouraged me to keep fighting the good fight & that everything would pay off in the end. He comforted me the whole way through and always knew that I could make it happen, one way or another. 
I've talked about my relationship on here in the past, but I don't think I talk enough about the struggles with it. Well, we recently got into a really big fight, and our first major fight since being in Sydney and honestly since before Darell moved too. & as I reflected on the last 5.5 years, I've been thinking about everything we've been through & how far we've come. 
Why do I mention our really recent fight? Well, as he & I were talking about what had happened & were trying to work through it, after we had both calmed down from being very angry and sat down to really talk about the root of the problem, I noticed how he handled himself. 
He was very patient with me, and he let me cry out everything I was feeling (he even let me cry onto his shirt & get stuff all over him haha). He was gentle and hugged me in a way that made me feel protected & safe with him. 
You might read that & think, "Well, he should've been like that to begin with!" or "Was he not like that before?!" or something along those lines. But if you look at our relationship, you have to consider the fact that I was 15 & he was 17 when we first started dating. We've come a longgggggg way since then. 
Because Darell grew up around not very many women other than his mom (he has one other brother plus his dad), it took him a very long time to get used to how to care for and even understand the emotional needs of a woman. He definitely grew up in a guys' house. & because of other factors in our lives at the time (another very long story for another day), he & I had a lot of issues in the beginning of our relationship, especially with the way we communicated with each other. It wasn't healthy the way we handled conflict. 
However, as the years went on we both learned how to communicate better & we are both much better at facing conflict head-on. Sometimes, I think he handles conflict better than I do now, haha. 
All that is to say that I'm thankful for him. Lately, he has definitely been my rock through everything that I've been going through. He's kept me level-headed while still encouraging me to keep pushing forward and having faith. Especially in this season of life that I'm in right now, I don't know what I'd do without him. I'm very thankful every day that God has brought him into my life. 
So Darell, I know you're reading this right now because you're always the first to read my new posts, but I just want to tell you thank you for being you. Thank you for your heart, thank you for your willingness & openness to grow & learn, and thank you for your encouragement. I feel at home when I'm with you. I love you.