The Hard Is What Makes It Great

Well, the past month has been a little bit of a whirl wind:

We said good-bye to my Grandma Johnson.
Celebrated Mother's Day.
My P.E.O. group raised over $3000 for Women's Continuing Education.
I preached at church, twice.
I helped a lady from church clean out her closets and bid a fond farewell to several items.
We celebrated friends and Graduates.
Ended the last year in Middle School...I now have TWO high schoolers!
We attended a couple of baseball showcase tryouts.
We celebrated our Pastor who will be leaving for a new church in one short week.
We shopped for and settled on a car for my almost 16-year old.
I visited my grandpa in ICU and had a great lunch with grandma.
I attended an Unemployment "training" and was told to "weaken" my resume.
I have been trying to write as I can and blog when I have uninterrupted time.
I sat through a "Summons for Jury Duty".
Yesterday my Uncle passed away, my Grandma Johnson's middle son.
And today, well today I am blessed to claim 20 years of marriage to my wonderful husband and father of my spawn, who happens to be celebrating a birthday today as well...

The house isn't always clean, but the dog gets fed, laundry stays caught up, and there is always coffee pods for the Keurig and a cold beer in the fridge saying "try again tomorrow".

Twenty years ago...I was twenty...let that sink in.  We started off these twenty years with sexy lingerie (me, not my husband so much), two-door cars, Tuesday nights at Chili's, lots of burnt dinners, college classes, ski trips, baby faces, slimmer waist lines, and larger dreams.  We have lived through big bangs, white socks and Nike sandals, Jorts, denim and khakis, overalls, HairBands, Grunge, and the Atlanta Braves in their prime (RIP).

Those things gave way to larger waist lines, C-section scars, gravity, late-night feedings and diaper changes, not-so burnt dinners, careers, facial hair (My husband, me not so much), stay-cations, four-door cars, mini-vans, and SUV's, and reality.  We survived colic, bouts of the flu, depression, the terrible two's and the thunderous three's (twice), a big move, Tweens, and are learning to accept reality over big dreams, though some days are harder than others.

Marriage is hard, it is hard to think about that early on when everything is new, sexy, focused, and with vast possibilities.  I am so glad that I found someone that would walk the hard with me, that would love me no matter what my hair choices were, what kind of day I was having, or what kind of choice I was making.  Because walking away from the hard is not an option...the hard is what makes it great.

Adulting is hard.  Parenting is hard.  Making tough choices is beyond hard.  But coming through all of that together, hand-in-hand, weary but wonderfully worn, content to snuggle up on the couch and table another dream for another day, not everyone chooses to do it, and I am so glad we have stuck together to experience the great.

I believe the Bible is true, but I think it has to have left out some petty arguments.  I think that Eve probably just ripped Adam a new grape leaf off the vine rather than wash the same one over and over. I wonder if Noah ever saw his wife on the deck of the arc and thought "woman, I will push you over". I think the invention of pressing olives probably came from spouses needing to smash something in frustration.  And sweet Mary, "I am not walking, have you seen the size of my kankles?"  Humaning is hard...but the hard is what lends itself to love.  The kind of love we see in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8:

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude.  It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  Love never ends... 

As I look back on what this year has brought into our lives already, I am thankful for the man that God placed in my life to endure (with) me.  Surviving an aging dog, job loss, grief, sassy teenagers, 50 shades of Crae, road trips, leaky faucets, balanced budgets, sports try-outs, musical cars, and spicy food - We have survived 100% of 2016 so far, from one spectrum to the other.

I know we share this day with many other great couples - Cheers to us and to all of you who work through the hard and celebrate the great!