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Firstly, let me confess that I have never thought of using Bible verses to play a central role in my marriage. I pray for my husband daily. I have prayed Scriptures over my husband, my favorite verses are found in Psalms for this. BUT, I have never thought of finding verses and saying THIS applies to my marriage. After Sunday morning, now I am thinking of what verses are good for our marriage. I love the idea of serving one another in our marriage because Christ came to serve us. I love that marriages are made up of daily choices to actively love and serve one another. More than that I am amazed to see that God has His design for marriage and active all encompassing love shown through these acts of service. Mark 10:45 is the perfect example of this. I am grateful for the challenge that Pastor Scott issued and that this is the verse that we are now using to remind ourselves of what marriage service and love really is.
Now onto confession number two. Robert and I have already been looking for little things to do for each other to serve one another daily. Why? It's the little things that make a marriage. I can give you two examples of what I do for Robert. I make his coffee nightly so he can have a fresh, hot cup of coffee waiting on him when he wakes up.
Why is this a big deal? I HATE the smell of coffee. Literally, I despise coffee. I don't like the smell of the grounds, the smell of it brewing, and don't get me started on the taste. BUT, my husband LOVES having a big pot of coffee waiting on him when he gets up at 5:30 for his day of work. So every night when I clean the kitchen, I put coffee on and set the timer for at least 15 minutes before he is to wake up. He gets up to the smell of coffee and he knows that I was thinking of him the night before.
Another little thing that I do is I try to learn to cook things that he likes. Most people think that I am a decent cook, and I have learned a lot over the years, but I am NOT the cook that Robert is. Robert is the one that can cook everything from scratch. I am still learning. Robert is the one who grew up in the kitchen, me, well let's just say my Mom's favorite meal is still take out menu's! In spite of my lack of culinary skills, I do try to make things that I know are pleasing to my husband. More than that, I purpose to plan our meals so that when he comes in from work, supper is being served. I also like to make things that I know he enjoys. Like this morning, I made his "kool-aid".
In my attempt to maintain a healthier lifestyle, I knew that traditional Kool-Aid had to go. BUT, this was something that Robert grew up enjoying, so I researched and found a healthy alternative. Robert LOVES to drink this healthy "kool-aid". The recipe is super simple (I'll share it below), the house smells incredible as the Tazo tea steeps, but more than that, Robert knows how much I love him because I choose to make this for him and the children. Literally this morning he was super excited that I was making him his "kool-aid".
Now, I know that I have gone on and on about all the things that I do for Robert. But, I want you to know that he serves me in a lot of little ways too. He will run by the bread store for me so I don't have to make a special trip. He will let me sleep in knowing that I am not a morning person by nature. He knows, even in his sleep, that I need him to hold me at night when I tap his shoulder. He gladly cooks on the days that life is too chaotic and stressful for me to have his meal ready on time. He willingly comes in from working, often a 10-14 hour day, and sweeps the floors for me because he knows I can't stand the sand and crumbs. He compliments me on cleaning the house even though it looks like a bomb has exploded. When I ask him how he can even tell I cleaned his answer is usually: "Because the toys and books are in a different spot."
All of these things, and maybe more than 100 more happen on a daily basis. Not because we are prefect, as our "discussion" last night can show. Rather these things happen because we are purposing to have a marriage where we put each other first, where we seek to show each other the love of Christ daily, and we purpose to show our children what love is. Love is dying to one's self daily. Love is an active choice. Love is working hard, even when you don't feel like it, simply because you WANT to serve one another.
Thank you Pastor Scott for this timely reminder this past Sunday. Thank you for the challenge of a collection of verses for our marriage. More than this, thank you to my husband of 17, almost 18, years for his continual acts of service, unfailing devotion, and unending love to me. It is a joy for me to find ways to serve him, simply because it's what makes our love story unique and beautiful. We choose to love each and choose to stay in love with each other by serving one another. These constant acts of service is what makes our messy, chaotic, stressful, amazing, beautiful, and Christ centered marriage a truly beautiful thing.
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NATURAL KOOL-AID
1 Tazo Iced Passion Tea Bag
1/2 Cup Organic Sugar
2 TBSP Organic Apple Cider Vinegar (with the Mother. I like Bragg's Brand the best)
In a small sauce pan bring water to a boil, turn the burner off, and add the tea bag allowing it to steep for at least 5 minutes. Enjoy the smells coming from the kitchen, believe me, it is heavenly! In a 2 quart pitcher pour the sugar, hot tea, and vinegar. Add water to fill the pitcher to the top, stir well, and enjoy over a tall glass of ice. You can thank me now for this amazingly refreshing summer drink recipe! HA!
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