By Denae Jones-
On any given day, our family has at least two arguments between siblings. Chores that aren’t done. Maybe a call from school. Packed lunches forgotten in the fridge. Someone running late. A dog getting into mischief. Reminders to be nice. Whining about silliness. Elbows thrown at each other during the six minute drive to church. Discipline all around.
But we are also goofy and sarcastic. Quick to give hugs and forgive. Hard workers and fast helpers. Good listeners when one of us has had a hard day. Saying, “I love you” comes easy, because we mean it.
My husband often jokes that his mission in our marriage is to ruin anyone else’s chance of having me if he dies first. He says he is going to treat me so good that nobody else could ever compare, so I wouldn’t even want them. I’m not sure if that’s extremely selfish or extremely sweet, but either way, I have to say he is doing a fantastic job so far.
He was off to a good start when he married me and took on five step-children and loves them like his own. (I know. Before you say it, I don’t know what he was thinking either.) There is no distinction of ‘step’ or ‘half-siblings’ in our house. We are just family. After he gets home from work, he never sits still. He’s always working on some project for someone other than himself. He cleans and helps take care of the kids, and has been known to leave me post-it notes all around the house. He sits with his arm around me in church. He writes ‘mirror messages,’ and has steak dinners and wine ready for me a few times a month for a date night. If it’s a day that he happens to leave before I get up, he kneels beside the bed and holds me for a few minutes and kisses me goodbye before he goes. I already miss him before he leaves the house. Then he texts me on breaks throughout the day. Just because. Just to let me know he’s thinking about me.
These are just a few of a long list of things, and I’m not saying all of this to brag. Trust me, we get things all wrong sometimes too. But I do feel like we are getting this part right. We make our marriage a priority over the kids, the schedules, the sports activities and the chaos life brings.
But there is something we put even before that. Something we don’t do perfectly, but try really hard to consistently improve on. Something that will ensure we will be together as long as possible, especially since we got a late start in life. Something that is the best thing we can do for each other and for our family. And that thing, friends, is making sure we put God first. Before our marriage. Before the kids. Before work and getting ahead. Before everything.
We come to God in prayer before meals and before bed. Before school and before tests. Before struggles and before sadness. Before big decisions, and before little ones. We ask God to forgive us for anything that stands between us and Him. To help us do what is difficult as long as it’s the right thing, and to praise Him through it. We ask God to help us set a good example so that our children will want to seek God for themselves. To be humble and to serve. To accept what Jesus did for us, and be forever grateful that we could all end up in heaven one day. We are talking about eternity, folks.
I’ve seen eternity illustrated this way. A rope was strung out across a stage, and around a huge auditorium. He said to pretend this rope went around the earth several times, then out through our solar system, past the sun, and into other galaxies. Imagine it goes on forever. Now, look at the tip of the rope, which has one inch painted in red. That little red blip represents our life. The time here that seems like endless years is only a vapor, and then it’s gone. The rest of it – that’s the part we will spend in heaven or in hell. That’s the part, that on the day of our judgement, God will either say, “Well done, my good and faithful servant, “ or, “I don’t know you.” Which do we want it to be?
Do we mess up along that way? You bet. Every. Single. Day. We are human. It’s okay if we make mistakes, but we can’t make excuses. Let’s get this part right. Let’s have the difficult conversations if necessary. Let’s invite people to pray. Let’s show unconditional love. Let’s be the good example when it’s convenient and when it’s inconvenient.
Today, I am truly grateful for God’s grace and mercy.
Have a blessed day, friend!