Keeping Romance Alive

It's that dreaded time again. I don't look forward to it when it comes and spend those final minutes memorizing every feature on his face. The color of the pale blue in his eyes and the way I know that those eyes will only look on me and find the love we have been able to capture, grow, maintain and strengthen in almost 20 years together. February 9th, we will celebrate 17 years of marriage together and as I was going about my errands yesterday I realized how wonderful it is to be with the right person God has in mind for you.

I had thought that about my first marriage, but maybe I falsely jumped at the idea of being married, and I certainly wasn't a Christian at first when I did. Later after 10 years, I watched that marriage dissolve into divorce following an affair by my ex and wondered if God would ever bless my life again or would I be forever a single mom for the remainder of my life.

Well he did.

And for this blessing I know I am a rich woman indeed. While my husband may not hold the keys to keeping romance alive, I know he loves me more than anything. He shows it in the way he makes the perfect eggs for me, to getting up early to feed our impatient cat Bella most mornings at 6am, to just hanging out with me and being the best friend I could ever have. We've gotten to the point of finishing each others sentences and even find our thoughts are aligned as well, when one of us will say something and we look at the other and say, "I was just thinking the same thing!"

He will be the last love of my life as well. I can't imagine a life without him in it and that is why I miss him the most when he is gone, whether for a handful of hours or for days traveling for work. I am blessed that he cares enough to call me every day and tell me he loves me. That there is no place he'd rather be than home with me and the kids. I hate that feeling when you suddenly realize that he isn't coming home tonight and that feeling of fear creeps in.

What if something happens? What will I do? Who will I call?

Most of the time nothing happens, but when it does, I handle it. I've earned my big girl panties these past few years. I've mastered fixing sprinkler links, to repairing broken locks, to handling life until he returns. Oh it wasn't always easy. There were hours I would spend crying my eyes out why life had to be so unfair to make my husband have to travel so much. I never thought I would be able to handle it like most women do, but then one day, those trips didn't hurt as much. I missed him as much as I ever did, but I trust God to bring him back. One day He might not, but I know God will always have my best interests in mind and I will ge through it.

Until that time, however, I truly cherish and love the man I've been blessed to have in this walk of mine on Earth and the best part is knowing I will spend an eternity with him as my best friend forever. So I wrote him a love letter telling him how valuable and loved he is. I secretly gave it to him and hoped he would read it on the plane.

He did and it make him cry. Not because of what I wrote, but that love could be put into words to let a wonderful man like my husband know how much I really and truly love him. I think that's important for us wives to do, as much as we can and in all sincerity. Because life outside our marriages is cruel, heartless and full of things that would tempt what we share. We have no greater honor than to pray for our husbands daily and whenever we think of them. I can't wait for the day when God shows us how many times we prayed for one another. It's the most powerful weapon we have to keep the enemy at bay and it's so much easier to lay the foundation before the house is built than to try to do it afterwards.

Our foundation is found in our commitment to God and in doing so makes it possible to truly have an unforgettable and truly rewarding marriage. Ours isn't perfect for it's perfect for us. How do you keep your marriage strong? I'd love to hear about it.

Building Foundations

First of all Happy 2014 to everyone who stops by this way and happens upon my blog. I welcome you with warm blessings from the bottom of my heart. I hope what you find here touches something deep within your soul and causes you to reflect on the meaning, but more importantly to see God in everything that I do this year.

Everything I encountered today seemed to point to the beginning of what I hope will be a much different year. As the first day of my 2014 book, I am greeted with unlimited possibilities and a willingness to completely turn my entire life over to God for His use. Knowing that and understanding that today for most offers a clean slate and I wanted to make sure that mine began with the strongest foundation I could. No building or structure can be built and expected to last without a strong foundation. It might stand the test of time for some years but without a solid rock to build upon it will soon succumb to the forces of the elements and give way to time.

Yet looking back historically a lot of structures that were built upon strong foundations have lasted. The pyramids of Egypt, the buildings of Ancient Rome, even some places that have been buried are being unearthed and restored. Yet I am not saying that they are just as perfect as the day they were built, far from that, but they remain standing is the point. Even the great Leaning Tower of Pisa is still standing but even scientist agree that without intervention at some point, the Tower will fall due to the softening soil beneath it.

So in order to establish a great order, I went back to the beginning today. Back to Genesis 1 and the creation of the world. We see that without light, it would remain a darkened void but it was the Light that made it good. In fact, everything that God created was built upon a solid structure. Light, Sky, Land, Water, Life all came in just the right order to ensure that what He created was good. There was a reason why it happened in that order. It makes sense when you look at it layer by layer.

It gives you a different perspective viewing things that way God designed them to be much like the foundational relationship he wanted between us and Him. We were never meant to be self serving and coming to God only when our attempts failed. Deep down inside us, we were created for something more. That is the reason for the pursuit of stuff. We are looking to fill a God-shaped hole in our lives that can only be filled by God. It's the very reason why when we get what we believe will make us happy, after some time, we are looking for something else. It never lasts, but our relationship with God was built to last. It was made to last not only in this lifetime, but more importantly throughout eternity as well.

Since today is the beginning of my first step in the right direction, I am beginning with God and going back to the basics. I am giving up unhealthy foods and taking God's direction. I hope you'll join me along the way and for today it begins with wholesome foods again. I can't wait to see where I will end up in 30 days. Yet with God's help I know I can do this no matter what temptations the enemy places in my path and who he decides to use to get me to fall. I have a strong foundation to begin with and I know it will last.

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!" ~ 2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV