Have you ever planned a special romantic time with your husband only to have the plans you looked forward to fall apart? What was your reaction to the messing up of your plans?
This weekend Jeff and I celebrated 16 years of marriage.
Several weeks ago we began planning the weekend. It would begin with breakfast at a local bakery followed by a day of playing like we used to before kids. There would be activities with the kids on Saturday but Saturday night was ours. Reservations were made, the kids were scheduled to spend the night with my Mom, plans were finalized and we were looking forward to a night of celebrating 16 wonderful years of marriage.
But plans changed when Jeff came home sick from work Thursday. What was supposed to be a day of playing and celebrating became a day of TLC and rest.
On Saturday we tried again, this time we made it to dinner but had to pick up sick kids early. Instead of an evening spent with Champaign and Roses our night was filled mopping and steam cleaning floors.
It could have been very easy to become frustrated with the situation. I could have moaned and groaned because our special time was interrupted. But, I realized that it didn’t matter how we celebrated our anniversary, what mattered was that we had 16 years to celebrate.
Because Jeff was sick I had an opportunity to serve him. He loves breakfast so I made him a quiche served with greek yogurt and strawberries. I even added a little special touch by setting up candles in the den…there’s no reason why a candle lit meal has to be just for dinner .
On Saturday night while I was mopping and Jeff was steam cleaning the rug I thought about how blessed we were. During our 16 years of marriage God blessed us with 2 beautiful children that we had the privilege to care for when they were sick.
Throughout our 16 years of marriage we have had our share of TLC and rest days, and we have had our share of mopping and steam cleaning floors that have not been fun, but during 16 years of marriage we have also had stolen 24 hours away just us, surprise lunch dates during the middle of the week, and countless fun outings.
Celebrating the little, everyday moments of our marriage kept me from moaning and groaning when our celebration plans were interrupted. And because my attitude was not one of moaning and groaning I was able to find the blessings in the unexpected not so fun moments.
Celebrating the little, everyday moments of marriage makes it easier to find the blessings in the unexpected not so fun moments.
Do you take the time to celebrate the everyday moments of your marriage? When the times of celebration are interrupted how do you respond?
In His Calm,
