Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Sappy Moment #1.

So, I've decided that I'm going to just post whenever I feel sappy (which is a lot, actually).


So here's the first one: I walked down the aisle to this song. And I love it. :)

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Peace for My Soul.

So right now, I'm sitting in my comfy apartment, enjoying the peaceful (yet cloudy) day outside, and listening to relaxing music. As I sit here, and as I earlier wrote in my journal and read my Bible, I realized something disheartening - I haven't really relaxed in ages. There's just something about taking the time to sit and ponder life, God, and where He has me right now that is just so refreshing.

Eric is gone this weekend, which - even though I really miss him - has given me a chance to be alone, and I'm actually enjoying the solitude for now. I know that when he comes back tomorrow I'm going to be really excited to see him, but for now... I'm enjoying the solitude. I've been productive for the most part - I started my online classes and I'm going to clean tomorrow after church - and then when I started pondering life, it just felt... wonderful.

The more busy I get, the more things that Eric and I do, the more I forget about the importance of alone time every once in a while. I get too busy for rest - so when I do try to rest, it doesn't really work. One of my friends posted a quote on Facebook the other day that really stood out to me:

"...getting eight hours of sleep may very well be the most holy thing we do as followers of Jesus. It’ll help keep us from making ourselves and everyone around us miserable. Busyness, hurry, and over-commitment are not badges of honor. On the contrary, they are indicative of a sick soul."

I am so, so guilty of being over-committed in my life. I expect something to be happening all the time - otherwise... I'm not a good Christian, and I'm not as holy as other people. Either that, or I'm not as good of a worker and I'm not going to succeed. Both of these are absolute lies. God gave us the ability to sleep for a reason, and we have a certain number of hours of sleep that we should get for a reason. For so long I've ignored this (college does that to a person), but the more I think about it, the more I realize that it is so important. Last night I got 10 hours of sleep, and it was magnificent. I have been so behind on sleep lately that my body has just been fatigued and I've felt irritable and grumpy, which is definitely not a good sign.

I don't want to have a sick soul. I want to treasure my relationship with the Lord, with Eric, and with everyone else around me. I want to be able to give the people I'm with and the things that I'm doing 100% of my attention instead of being worried about how tired I am, how exhausted I feel... etc. The care for one's soul is of utmost importance, and yet... it's often neglected. I don't want to do that anymore.

I want peace... peace for my soul, peace that doesn't just last for a moment, but peace and rest that comes from making my relationship with the Lord my priority and taking care of myself like I should by making time for rest a priority.

However... Rest doesn't just mean sleep. It means taking time out of my day to sit. To read. To listen to calming music. To stop worrying about the stresses of life and just... be.

When was the last time you allowed yourself to just be? To just sit, ponder, be creative, relax? If it's been a while... I highly suggest taking even just half an hour to quiet your heart and mind, be still, and just... be.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

3 Months and Counting. :)

So, yes. Sunday was Eric's and my 3-month anniversary, and it's weird to think that we've already been married for 3 months. We're starting to settle into our life here in Minnesota, and we're looking forward to the journey ahead of us. :) 

These first 3 months have definitely taught each of us a lot more about who we are individually, and who we are to each other. I had a friend post about her marriage thus far, and she talked about how it wasn't as difficult as people said it would be. However, that's not how it's been for Eric and I. We are learning that marriage is the sweetest relationship in the world, but it's also the most difficult. We are called to deny ourselves everyday and to let the other person be who they are without trying to control anything, and it's not always easy. But I will tell you this: Marriage is the best thing to happen to us.

Though it's not easy, and though we might argue over the best way to start a campfire, or over what time we should go to church on Sunday morning, we wouldn't trade it for the world. It's not always cake and butterflies, but we are growing and being stretched more than I would have even thought possible. Marriage has such a way of showing you exactly how flawed you are and everything that you have failed at and need to work on. We're excited for this journey - it's going to be long and difficult, but the enjoyment of knowing that we have each other for the rest of our lives is totally worth it. 

Life together is beginning to be normal for us. We enjoy the simple things - the kiss goodbye as we head off to our jobs, the 3 roses he brings me when I'm sick, the walks we take in the park just happy to hold each other's hands.... It's so sweet. We don't need a lot, and we don't have a lot. But the important thing is that we have each other, and that's all we need. Sure, bills and other expenses will certainly be part of our lives, but we can get through it because we have each other - and most importantly, we are grounded and bound together by Jesus Christ.

Almost every night, right before we go to sleep, Eric asks me if we can pray together. This is one of the sweetest things for me, because it helps me remember that while we are close together, we are only together because of God's purposes in our lives, and we need to look to Him for our strength and guidance. I love hearing the question, "Can we pray?" from my dear husband, and I respect him so much for doing that. 

We have a lot to learn in our marriage. We are nowhere even close to being perfect at our relationship, but we're enjoying the ride, no matter how difficult it gets. We're excited to come closer together, to learn how to deal with life's situations, and to one day have babies and learn how to raise them in the way they should go. 

I'm married to my best friend, and that's the best feeling in the world. I know that no matter what happens, no matter how difficult things get, he's going to be there for me and love me, and I couldn't ask for anything more than that. I'm really looking forward to the rest of our lives. :)