Jesus, Be The Center

That has been my prayer lately. With all that's going on and the responsibilities of life sometimes distracting me and taking my joy away, I've needed to focus on Jesus and remember why I do what I do. It's really helped. I've felt a lot less anxious about things in general. Gregg and I have been able to reconnect after a very busy few weeks, too. We've just enjoyed relaxing together and talking about everything and nothing. Monday night he washed and folded all the dirty laundry he brought home from his trip, which I so appreciated. It was one less thing on my "to do" list. I can't stand coming home from work, knowing there's all this stuff to do yet around the house.

Yesterday Gregg got his birthday present from his parents, which he was really happy about. They sent it late because they were on vacation the week before. It was a very nice shirt from Cabela's, a tupperware full of yummy chocolate chip cookies and $50 cash. We went out to eat with some of the money before small group started at 7. It's always great every week, spending time with friends sharing laughter/concerns/prayers and rejoicing in each others' good news. One couple announced they had made the decision to adopt a baby from overseas, something they were wrestling with for a few months.

We've been discussing how various aspects of our marriages point us towards God. Sometimes the things that come up are downright funny, but mostly they’re just honest from-the-heart stuff. The couple that leads our group, who have also been married the longest, are really open about the struggles they’ve faced together. That has helped the rest of us be candid about our own marriages and not feel like we need to pretend everything’s perfect and there are no problems. I love that all of us though, whether married for nine months or ten years, have made God the center of our marriages and continually seek His will & direction.

By now we’ve had our fair share of problems and know that they are, strangely enough, blessings in disguise: they shape our character and give us roots so we can stay firmly planted in a society where 50% of all marriages fail. We realize that whether or not our spouse really is the one, this is the person we’ve chosen to go through life together with, good or bad, and we’re in it for the long haul. It doesn’t sound very romantic. I’ll confess that right now I’m looking for a private retreat in the midst of our busy schedules, full of nothing but romance. But it makes me think of something our pastor said when he married us almost four years ago- “agape love (unconditional, committed love) will sustain your marriage when the other two, philos and eros, wane”. How true.