What We Do Have

Prov. 16:25--"There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death."

A dear friend reminded me recently of the fallacies touted by the world in romance novels and romantic movies, might I add myself, even certain songs. The thoughts so often promoted would have us, as women, committing idolatry and making ourselves prey for a lurking enemy. The thoughts? There is a man out there who should be able to look us in the eye and know our soul. There is a man out there who can know the most secret places in our heart and can fill up any void we have. Dare I ever put my sweet husband in such a position that he was not intended to fill. There is One who knows my soul and only One who knows the most secret places of my heart and only One who I dare ask to fill the void He was meant to fill. To put my husband or any other person in that position would be no different than molding a golden calf and bowing down. There is so much danger in filling minds with the world's version of romance. Danger to single people because they may search so long for a love that is not meant to exist between two people, but individuals and their Creator. Danger for married people because they can become dissatisfied with the one they've chosen, convinced that the right one is still somewhere out there. I've experienced this struggle myself over the twenty years of marriage to the point that I've had to turn off certain music because the lyrics portray love between a man and woman as the ultimate fulfillment. Movies, television, and books (my weak spot, as I have enjoyed Jane Austen for years), too, present "love" in such a way that anyone experiencing a difficult year of marriage can walk away empty and wanting that phantom of romance.
So to my dear husband, who so very sweetly reads my blog, I release you from any pressure of filling shoes you were not intended to fill and thank you for how you have filled the ones that were meant for you.

What We do Have

We do not always look into each other's eyes and know what is in the other's heart

We cannot always tell what the other is thinking

We are not so in sync that we know exactly what the other is going to do in every situation

But I'm glad for that, it means there is still a mystery about each other

Things yet to discover

and it makes me focus on the treasures we do have

We have you cuddling with me because you know I need comfort

We have me going to sleep long after you, kissing your back and taking your hand while I doze off

We have both of us giving a little twinkle in the eye as we glimpse at each other when the kids do something great

We have me crying because I'm upset and you trying to solve the problem because you just want me to be okay again

We have you smiling an "are you alright?" smile when we're off somewhere and you know I'm uncomfortable

We have you and I praying together, not every day yet because we're just not that consistent, but we're still working on it

We have twenty years behind us, twenty years that we've spent learning each other's ways and adjusting our own to match

We have two minds that have learned to think as one

We have two wills that have learned to act as one

We have five incredible blessings that motivate us to stay true to Him

We have One who has put us together and kept us

I will not ask you to be my everything, I will be thankful for everything you are though

II Pet. 3:17--"...beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own steadfastness."

(Thanks for the reminder, Jen)