For Raquel

A letter for Raquel

My beautiful Raquel,

Sometimes I look at you and wonder whether you really know.

Not just that I love you. I hope you know that. But whether you understand how deeply you have touched my life, how much I admire you, and how grateful I am that, out of all the people in this world, I get to be the man beside you.

I don’t always find the right words. Sometimes what I feel is so much bigger than what I manage to say. But you deserve to hear it, and I want to keep learning how to tell you.

Raquel and Ricky cheek to cheek, her ring on show

Almost five years ago

Green eyes

Almost five years ago, your green eyes caught my attention. Your smile, your energy, and your happiness made me want to be closer to you. There was so much life in you, and I was drawn to it.

Today, those eyes are even more beautiful to me. Because now, when I look into them, I know the woman behind them. I know your kindness, your generosity, your strength, and the faith that runs so deeply through your life.

And I still find myself thinking, How did I get to marry this beautiful woman?

You made room for me

At a time when I needed help, you made room for me.

Our story had barely begun when I had my accident and needed surgery. You brought me into your home and cared for me while I recovered. You might remember it as something you simply did because you cared. I remember it as one of the first times I understood just how extraordinary your heart was.

I will never forget that, Raquel. Not just what you did, but the love with which you did it. Even now, remembering your kindness makes me grateful all over again.

Raquel and Ricky cheek to cheek in the winter sun

Raquel and Ricky on Christmas Eve at Cross Church

III

That first day at church

Then there is that first day I went to church with you.

I wish I could put into words everything that memory means to me. Your faith opened my heart to something I hadn’t fully understood. Through your example, I began discovering a faith I didn’t know I had, and I made the decision to give my life to Jesus.

You are part of the story of how I found my way to Him.

That is something I will carry with gratitude for the rest of my life.

Walking with you in faith has changed the way I experience both joy and difficulty. The happy moments feel fuller because we share them. In the hard moments, having you beside me helps me find strength, resilience, and peace. I love that we can keep growing together, not knowing every answer, but trusting God as we take the next step.

But, my love, there is something else I want you to hear.

I am grateful for everything you do for me, but my love for you is much bigger than my gratitude.

I love you.

Raquel laughing on a swing by the sea at night

Your happiness.
Your beautiful smile.
Your generous spirit.
The way English and Portuguese find their way into the same sentence when you speak.
The woman you are, beyond all the ways you take care of everyone you love.

You don’t have to be strong every moment to be precious to me. You deserve tenderness, too. You deserve to feel cared for, understood, and safe. I want my love to give you room to rest, to laugh, to dream, and to be yourself.

What I want to learn

You have shown me so many times that you will not give up on me. I never want to treat that as something I am simply entitled to receive. I want to answer it with the way I love you back.

I wish I had learned sooner how to be more patient with you and how to understand you more deeply. I am sorry for the times I have fallen short in those ways. You deserve a husband who makes the effort to understand your heart, not one who assumes he already knows it.

01I want to listen more carefully.
02I want to be gentler in the way I speak.
03I want to notice what matters to you and make space for it.

I don’t want you to have to read a letter to know how loved you are. I want you to feel it in the way I treat you.

That is part of my prayer for us: that as our love grows older, it also grows kinder.

You make me want to become a better man, a more faithful man, a more patient husband, a partner you can lean on just as I have leaned on you. There is still so much for me to learn, and I am grateful that I get to keep learning beside the woman I love.

Raquel and Ricky laughing on the beach by a lighthouse

I am proud of you, too

And please know this: I am proud of you, too.

I admire your faith, your strength, and the generosity of your heart. I love being your husband. I love that you are my best friend, my partner, my safe place, and the person with whom I want to share whatever comes next.

my best friend,
my partner,
my safe place

VII

What I see ahead

When I picture our future, I see that peaceful house near the beach. I see our angel dog Indy close by. I imagine us traveling, discovering new places, and coming home happy to have shared another adventure.

Indy

But the part that moves me most is much simpler.

It is having more ordinary days with you.

Raquel and Ricky on a walk with Indy as a puppy

Raquel and Ricky swimming in clear green water

More mornings when I get to see your face. More chances to make you smile. More conversations in whatever combination of languages feels right. More prayers, more walks, more moments when nothing remarkable is happening except that we are together.

I dream of growing older and still reaching for your hand. Still admiring those green eyes. Still finding new things to love about the woman I thought I already knew so well.

VIII

Come close

We have so much life left to welcome, my love. So much love left to give each other.

I hope that whenever you wonder what you mean to me, you remember this: you are deeply wanted, deeply admired, and deeply loved. I am not simply grateful that you have stayed beside me. I am happy that I get to stay beside you.

Thank you for choosing me over and over again.

I choose you, too, with gratitude for our beginning, love for the life we share today, and hope for everything God still has ahead of us.

And when you finish reading this, come close. Let me hold you for a moment. There is still so much I want to tell you, but some of it will make more sense with my arms around you.

Hold until our threads meet

Tap the video to start our song

I love you, Raquel.

I am so happy it is you.

Forever yours,
Ricky