Friday 30 November 2012

What Am I Getting Myself Into?

When I used to make the two and a half hour trek from where I lived to where Luke lived, I used to listen to audiobooks to pass the time. I recently finished this gem and have been looking for a new one. I had the rare privilege of driving down to Three Rivers by myself yesterday and since I don't have a new audiobook yet, I decided to break out some cds from my high school days for the half hour journey. When this song (give it a listen!) came up, I had to repeat it (slightly surprised that I still remembered all the words!) :) Now, I know this song is talking about this guy's relationship towards God, but I couldn't help but think about what this meant for Luke and I.

The main line in this song is "do you know what you are getting yourself into?"

One thing I noticed throughout our engagement - when people find out you're engaged, suddenly EVERYONE has marriage advice for you (whether you asked for it or not!) I kid, because most of the advice people offered us was pretty solid. However, we also noticed that for some reason people enjoyed telling us how difficult the first year would be. How things will "change" after the honeymoon is over (or at least once you're out of what is commonly referred to as the "honeymoon phase"). How, shortly after the wedding, we'll start to see each other in a different light - a negative light.

One of my most cherished pieces of advice came from a woman I barely know at church one week. She said not to listen to those people.

Is marriage tough? Sometimes.
Does it take work to keep it together? Always.
Will your life be the same as it was when you were single? Never again.
But is it possible for the first year of your marriage to be the best year of your life rather than the worst? Yes. And it should be!
[This woman and her husband have been married more than fifteen years and are still "honeymooning"!]

Just because marriage is an adjustment does not mean your first year has to be as hard as some people say it will be. By continuing to keep God at the centre of your relationship I believe you can avoid much of the "first year heartbreak" and "post-honeymoon stress disorder".

But back to the song - "do you know what you are getting yourself into?"

We definitely knew what we were getting ourselves into - I got married to the chief of sinners!! [And HE married the chief-ess!]

I have to admit that as far as marriage goes, I'm pretty unexperienced. But how about relating to fellow sinners? I have definitely done that! :)

I have to remember that Luke is a sinner. He has to remember that I'm one too. Have we (in our short six weeks of covenant bliss) frustrated each other? Annoyed each other? Hurt each others feelings? Yes, yes, and yes! Because we're sinners and that's what we do! But we're sinners who love God and love each other and we know that the two of us together is better than the two of us apart. That is what marriage is all about.

How about the last line of the song? "I LOVE YOU and THAT'S what you are getting yourself into." Beautiful.

Wednesday 28 November 2012

My New Ministry

I believe that every Christian is involved in ministry - no matter what age or what is going on in their lives, there is a ministry that they are called to. For me, it was always relational - from helping to lead Bible studies for "churched girls" to co-leading an outreach club for "unchurched girls" - this was where I belonged and I loved it! Now that I have moved to a new city in a new country and started attending a new church, I deeply miss these ministries. I almost feel like I haven't even been "involved" in anything for a couple months now. But that could not be further from the truth.

I have been called to one of the most beautiful, most challenging, and most rewarding ministries of all - being a wife.

My mom gave me a little book of prayers a couple months before the wedding. I strive to wake up early with Luke (6:30am does NOT come easy to me, and I have to admit I have failed in this area more than I thought I would). But I know this is a valuable time for me and even more so for him. I know that when I make the effort to get up early with him and pray over him with one of the prayers in this book, it is so much more intimate than waking up after he's gone and reading the prayer aloud to myself. Less intimate, and thus I can't help but feel, less effective.

Getting up early to spend time with him. As Luke's wife, this is my new ministry.

Right now, Luke's job is very high stress in addition to long hours. We were hoping he would be able to switch positions before we got married, but God has other plans for us. Luke asked me the other day if I prayed for him while he was at work. I had to tell him (a little ashamed of myself) that I pray for him in the morning, but not throughout the day, and I realized that somehow I had thought that once a day was enough! Luke faces an enormous amount of battles at work - frustration, impatience, anxiety - things that are impossible to overcome without God.

Covering him with prayer all day, every day. As Luke's wife, this is my new ministry.

Unpacking. I literally shudder at the thought. There are still so many stinkin boxes in our house!! I currently have two baskets filled with clean laundry that I have no where to put because I'm having a hard time trying to organize what little closet space we have. I've been slowly but surely working on this, but I know I need to step it up. I don't like that Luke has to come home to boxes and piles of laundry (albeit clean laundry!) after a long day at work. I know that this is the place we are in right now, and I count it as a blessing that we have clean clothes and a new washer and dryer for the dirty ones! But I am so looking forward to finally being "settled"! :)

Creating a place of rest and a haven for him to come home to. As Luke's wife, this is my new ministry.

I know that women have been home-making for centuries and many excel and many do not. The home-maker role is very new to me and one of my deepest desires is to serve Luke (and by doing so, also serve God) WELL. As I continue to go through this learning process, I will choose to "count it all joy"!

Thank you God for entrusting me with this ministry!

Monday 26 November 2012

Just the Beginning . . .

For over a month now my life has been filled with a joy unspeakable - the kind of joy only to be found within the tender sanctity of two people committing the rest of their lives to one another. "My heart is glad and my whole being rejoices" [Psalm 16:9] Only someone as good as our God could imagine something like this up!

I don't ever want to forget these days. This is a quiet place for my reflections on marriage. On learning how to become a godly wife. About my stumbles and my victories and my unspeakable joy in the midst of it all.

Thank you God for creating marriage - it is already more than I could ever have imagined!