Slow News Day

Hi Everyone!

I'm Micki, Tonya's mom. This is my first experience with a blog so I'm not sure I know what I'm doing. But Tonya gave me specific instructions so may it will work.

Today is Sunday November 16th. I would like to talk a little about how life can get hard and even get you down at times. Sometimes it is hard to see how God could possibly working in the situation because it seems so hopeless and you feel helpless in it and we wonder, "Where are you Lord?" Ever felt like it would be really nice if he would just show up already and help you out? Boy do I know that feeling. It seems that our time is not usually God's time and I have learned that God does not get in a hurry. If I am in a difficult situation and I could use a little divine intervention, by the time the situation is worked out in whatever way it does and I have learned from it and grown from it I find myself sometimes thinking, "Lord I got the message a long time ago and you really didn't need take as long as you did to work this thing through." Sometimes it is hard to even know how to pray or what to say when you do. Does anyone relate to what I am saying here?

Lets talk about marraige for example. Talk about hard work. I don't think that most people who get married think much beyond the honeymoon. They start feeling all warm and fuzzy inside and the person they are going to marry seems so perfect and the few things they know of that kinda bothers them a little bit are so miner they are willing to overlook them and live with them. Most people don't realize that marraige is truely the hardest work they will ever do. So after the honeymoon is over and real life sets in they start to find out that this person has some serious faults that just drive them crazy. Then there is life itself, jobs, families, friends etc.... and before you know it maybe things start to unravel. Then we decide it would just be easier to cut our loses and go our seperate ways. But what about our marraige? What about how we felt on our wedding day? Can we forget so easily how much we loved this person? A lot of us do.

I have learned that love truely becomes a choice especially during the difficult times. I love my husband dearly, but he is not always easy to love. Many times I have asked myself why do I try so hard? Then God speaks up and says, "Because dear, I want you to." Then he also has a way of pointing out to me all of my own inperfections. Suddenly I am humbled and I know that this man is as much a part of me as a limb or an organ of my own body. The thought of not having him in my life would be as painful as having a major part of my own body removed. So no matter how hard times are I know I need him and God has put a love in my heart for him and he won't release me from it. Think about it, if a part of your physical body is causing you pain you are probably going to go to a doctor to try to find out what is wrong and what you need to do to make it better. Right? Lets say you are having Chest pain and you go to the doctor and it is determined that you have some blockage in a major artery. The doctor tells you that they can go into the artery and attempt to unblock it and with medication and a diet change and exercise you could go back to a productive life. Now that sounds easy enough doesn't it? Have you ever tried to change your eating habits, or to make exercise a part of your daily routine if it is something that you are not use to doing? Its not easy to change old habits. But most of us enjoy our lives and would make a very strong effort to make some serious changes no matter how tough it might be. Then there is also the ones who's heart is just diseased to the point that either there is nothing that can be done or maybe they might be a canidate for a heart transplant. If they can't or don't get the transplant their life is basically over and they will be meeting their maker in a very short time. But if they do get the transplant then what? Well there is always the possibility that their body will reject the new heart, and if it doesn't their life is going to be full of medications that will mean life or death to them, very strict guidelines on diet and exercise and probably many set backs. They will most likely experience depression, anxiety, and many times they will probably entertain thoughts like why did I do this? This is to much. I don't know how much more I can go through. But yet they keep fighting for their life.

No marraige is not easy. But if you don't forget the part of your vows that say through the good and the bad and you stick it out through the bad your reward will be well worth it. But if you decide it is just too hard and too much for you to deal with then your marraige will definetly die most likely a very painful death. Then what happens when you decide to try another one? Guess what you have brought everything that you never dealt with from you last marraige into the new one and your life may very likely reject it and if it doesn't there will probably be a lot more work into making it work then there would have been into keeping your first one healthy to begin with. I know that there are exceptions to every rule. If you are in an abusive situation definetly get some help and get away from it if at all possible. No one deserves to suffer abuse at the hands of their spouse. I don't believe for a minute that God sanctions that kind of relationship. But on the other hand I do believe that marraiges can survive through the worst of times. I know someone who is so very close to me that a few years ago that if I were a betting person I would not have betted so much as a penny on her marraige. I was certain it was over. There had been affairs, and pornography, and family problems that she had taken on that were not hers to take on, there was a financial mess, you name the problem this marraige had it. But I knew that divorce wasn't the answer there are also 2 little children involved that loved both their mom and dad and both of these people are excellent parents and everytime I would look at these beautiful children I would just cry because I didn't know how they would survive their parents mess. But somewhere along the line God showed up. These two people today are stronger than they have ever been in their commentment to each other and their family. They have such a love for each other and when you see them you wonder where did those broken messed up people go that I knew a few years ago. Because today they are absolutely beautiful together and they will tell you that God saved their marraige and their family. I have witnessed this marraige transformation and it is and ispiration to me, and I am very proud of these two people, and I love them both dearly. So don't be so quick to throw in the towel on your marraige you never know what rewards could be waiting for you if you make a choice to love your spouse even if you don't feel like it, make a choice to allow God work in your situation. It won't happen over night or in a week or even in a month. This couple that I am talking about got to where they are now through a slow and sometimes painful recovery. I believe this experience has made them strong enough to weather whatever storm comes next with a little more grace and less heartache. Because as long as marraige last there will always be times of trouble just like there will always be times of laughter, fun, and just plain romantic bliss. But you have to take the good with the bad and keep on loving your spouse and fighting for your marraige.

My husband and fifteen year old daughter and I went to see the movie Fireproof. Now my husband like I said at the beginning of this blog is not always the easiest person to love. He and I come from completely different backgrounds and we have a different set of morals and values. I am a christian and enjoy going to church and seeking God's direction for my life and My husband, well he is kind of hard and ruff around the edges and is not much on going to church and to my knowledge doesn't have a relationship with God, But I keep praying that one day he will and if anyone who reads this would say a prayer for him I wouldn't be offended in the least. He is mostly a master a masking his emotions. He is one of these big tough men that nothing bothers and men don't cry and well you get what I'm saying right? Well we went to see this movie. I did not tell him what it was about I just asked him to take us to a movie and he asked what I wanted to see and I said Fireproof. So here we are in the movie theatre and...... Oh my goodness did it start relating to us almost immediately. I couldn't stop the tears at certain times, and then other times I couldn't stop the laughter. But by the end of the movie I had a waterfall of tears running at will down my face and my husband had reached over and taken a hold of my hand and when I glance up at him I noticed that he had tears running down his face also and my little fifteen year old was also just a crying. I turned really quickly so he wouldn't notice that I saw his tears because I found it so precious that this big tough man could be brought to tears by the message in this movie. I knew then there was not only hope for our marraige but also hope for him to someday find a relationship with God.

Fireproof is #1 on my list of all time favorite movies. It is an absolutely outstanding movie. It has it all, action, humor, it has emotional moments, and spiritual moments. It will speak to your heart and your marraige. Not only is the movie entertaining it is truely a wonderful and awesomely great movie and its message is powerful. Every marraige should check out this movie.

Lord, Today I pray for marraiges. For people to remember their vows and the love they once felt for their spouse. I pray Lord that you give us the strength and humility to choose to love even when it doesn't feel so good to do so. Lord I just ask that you speak to the hearts of our marraiges and lead us to healthy counseling and strengthen us as individuals so that we can be better and stronger as a couple. Keep our hearts and our minds open and receptive to your leadership. It takes three strands of string braided together to make a strong rope and Lord I just ask today that you be the the third strand in our marraiges that makes us strong in you and as individual people, as couples, as parents, and as a family.

In Jesus name I pray.

Amen.