by Nancy Squires
One week from today, I will set off on a trip of a lifetime. I am going to Italy!
My husband is taking me to Italy. Yes, he is taking me.
He . . .
planned it.
took care of the finances.
took care of all my concerns about traveling overseas.
was even wise enough to surprise me a month ago with the trip. (I am a planner and surprising me any later would not have been within my comfort zone.)
He has made a lifetime dream come true for both of us—a goal, a dream, we wrote down 25 years ago as we planned out our life together. Yes, we are celebrating our 25th Wedding Anniversary.
Wow, 25 years! I have shared half my life with this man. (No calculating allowed!) A life that—as a little girl dreaming about her wedding and future husband—I never could have imagined.
Fairy tale life? Far from it.
Perfect life for me? Absolutely.
God knew what He was doing!
God knew the man that was perfect for me. He knew the man I would need. Only God knew where the journey would take me, the faith lessons that He wanted me to learn. God has orchestrated a perfect life for me and I am so grateful. A life that, while not perfect, is perfect for me.
I’m grateful that . . .
God brought my hubby into my life.
God is the center of our lives (personally and as a couple).
God bonded us together for a lifetime.
Too sappy? Well, let me assure you and bring some reality into the picture. This journey of 25 years of marriage has not been easy. It has been riddled with family conflict, prodigal children, health issues (mental and physical), many moves, job layoffs, deaths and many more trials.
In fact, at one point in our marriage, we both agreed that a divorce was the best thing for everyone. Yes, a divorce. We were seeking out lawyers until someone said, STOP and BREATHE.
It was at that point that we discovered HOPE in our marriage. We discovered HOPE in God’s plan. Hope that God could do miracles. Hope that God wanted more for us— both personally and as a couple. Hope that no matter the outcome, no matter the situation, God had us. He knew the journey He wanted to take us on. He knew the journey that we needed to go on to discover HIM.
Yes, discover HIM!
God has used my marriage to draw me closer to Him and to show Himself to me in ways that I never could have imagined. The journey of marriage has had its peaks and its valleys. Life’s journey will have its peaks and its valleys. Those look different for all. But all journeys have one thing in common—yhey are orchestrated by God.
So, as I reflect on and celebrate the past 25 years with my amazing husband, I want to also make sure I reflect on the journey with gratitude for what my Heavenly Father has done both in my life and in our lives together.
Nancy Squires is the Orange Specialist for MarriedPeople, helping churches all over the world be strategic in how they help marriages. Nancy and her husband, James, have been married for 25 years and have four children.
from MarriedPeople Couples http://ift.tt/24edtFx
via IFTTT
No comments:
Post a Comment