Must Hope

It’s been a long road…ten years this November to be exact. Been traveling the same road for ten. Long. Years. Oh, sure, there’s been rest stops, hills, sweet surprises, pretty scenery and many things learned along the way.  But my legs are cramped, my mind is weary and my heart is longing. I’m ready to be there. This road has been fraught with questions, fears, tears, frustration, anger, loneliness, and, I must admit, jealousy. This road of want and desire that never seems to end. Like a drive to nowhere. Why do I keep going? Why do I press on, eyes forward, hands on the wheel only to find that around the curve is more of the same? Because I must hope. Hope is the feeling that what is wanted can be had. I have to hope. For what is lost if hope is unfulfilled? The chance to have not hoped? Nothing, no nothing, is lost in hoping. So, I will drive, pedal to the floor.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:3

Eleven from a Wife

 

1. Date. No matter what it takes. Make fun happen!

2. Trust him as the leader and headship.  Even when fear threatens I choose to trust. Just as I want him to trust me to fulfill my role.

3. Listen more, talk less.  Deep breaths and hold the tongue. I’m woman, I talk too much, cry a lot and often have too many emotions to count at any given time.  It’s better to listen, filter emotions, pray and then, maybe, consider speaking.

4. Love hard, love relentlessly.  Life is short and can end abruptly, with no going back, so pour it out.  All of it.

5. When anger or hurt blinds judgment, stop and imagine life without him. Every scenario without him:  birthdays, holidays, hard times, bedtime.

6. Be the peacemaker. Even if you weren’t the peace breaker. (“Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God..” Matthew 5:9)

7. Never give up. Ever. But, often, give in.

8. Encourage him always with words of life, never magnifying a mistake.

9. Be selfless. I took a vow to have and to hold him, not myself. (“Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves”. Philippians 2:3)

10. Forgive. Over and over and over again. Then forget.  No grudges. (God speaking: “I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake;  and I will not remember your sins”. Isaiah 43:25)

11. Fight. Not with each other but for the marriage.  For the sacred and holy covenant made before God. Let nothing come between.  Stay vigilant and fight to keep the love alive and the friendship close. It’s worth fighting for!