When Life Throws You a Curve Ball

We have choices in life when a curve ball is thrown our way.  We have the choice to adapt, improvise, and overcome or we have a choice to cower in a corner in fear, shutting down and allowing life to walk all over us.

Within the past year, we've had some challenges that would bring many people to their knees cowering in fear, denial, and anger.   The truth is that we fell to our knees, desperately seeking God and His wisdom and direction in our lives.  We went though all of those emotions of fear, anxiety, denial, grief, anger, acceptance and now we're living with our circumstance and marveling at how the Lord's faithfulness has completely upheld us.

How does this affect our marriage?  We work and we work hard, but if it had not been for the faithfulness of the Lord upholding us, making intercession for us in our weakest moments, we would be cowering in the corner.

Rom 8:26-28  "Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.  (27)  And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.  (28)  And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."

We have been married for 24 years, having dated one year before being married.  We've loved one another for a long time.  When it comes to accepting the diagnosis of one of our children, it really tests the marriage relationship.  Because we resolved years ago that divorce was not an option for us, we've also been blessed, but even moreso since my husband has become a Christian in December 2012.

We have also resolved to make time for one another.  Throughout all of this adversity, we have needed date nights and other times as they arise to just take a breather and refresh ourselves for the next wave of challenges with children who have extra special needs.  We live by a day planner, so having that has made my life so much easier.  I transfer everything to google calendar so I can see at a glance what is going on because I have my cell phone with me, but not my planner.  I try to make sure to bring it with  me at appointments, but it isn't with me all the time like my phone is.  I love being able to see things at a glance, to bless my husband with this feature is something he wouldn't do for himself because it is just too much in to things that he just has no patience for.  It blesses him nonetheless and I am glad.

When adversity arises, my mother-in-law has held to the saying, "pull up your big girl panties and move on."  Others may say, "suck it up buttercup."  I choose to use my gifts (after wrapping my brain around the adversity through prayer, and lots of study) to help regain a small semblance of normalcy to our lives and that is a blessing to not only myself, but to my whole family.

God Bless,
Regina

Pulling Things Together

For the past 15 years, Mr. G and I have had separate email accounts mostly due to his job being so vastly different from our family and us as a couple.  What we use to do is share emails back and forth of couple related things, concerns about the kids and extended family as well as world events.  Very few emails were shared with me, if any, about his job related stuff.  Working in his field does that.  There is a sort of separation when a spouse works in corrections.  Their desire, for the most part, is to leave it behind when walking out the door.  They don't want to talk about the "nitty-gritty" because it is grotesque or spiritually bothersome.  They want to "protect" their loved ones--including their spouses--from the not so pleasantries of their job.

Let's face it--they work IN THE PIT OF HELL willingly every single day.

Mr. G recently received a promotion and is no longer in direct contact with "clients", so the "icky" stories have ceased for the most part.  Occasionally there are a few stories, but nothing on the scale that have happened the past 19 years.  Things are settling down for him.  The daily work he does is normally routine and doesn't change much.  

His sight is now changing to look toward his retirement.  Since getting his promotion, he's not been so sure about retiring in 2015.  He's thought about staying on and possibly moving up in the ranks, but we'll see what the future holds.  In the mean time, we bathe it in prayer.

For now, we're beginning the arduous task of combining our email accounts.  It will just begin there.  I'm not sure if it will go further, to Facebook, or if it will just be email.  I can't see that far ahead.  I am working to learn gmail and all that google provides.  I'm importing email addresses from both of our accounts.  I am gradually taking out "doubles" of people's email addresses, adding detail and putting various people in to email groups like "family", "close friends", "Mr. G's work friends" and etc.  He and I will no doubt spend a couple of hours going through his email contacts to "tidy" those up as well.  

So it begins, pulling each of our individual accounts together.  Why?  Because we will not need individual accounts soon and since it has been 15 years that we've kept our emails separate, it's a rather large task that will take some time.  

What is the criteria?  People who we're keeping as contacts deserve to have detail added to their name, for example--telephone number, spouse's name, children's names and their physical mailing address so we can send them cards after Mr. G retires.  What about those who we're not keeping?  We honestly haven't made it that far yet.  I'm giving Mr. G plenty of time to pray about whether or not to keep particular people as contacts in our joint email address list.  We're starting small and working slowly and methodically on the list.  

Things are changing for us.  We're getting older, our life is changing, our kids are growing up and doing more things outside the house in volunteer capacities.  We need to adjust, spend more time together--working, praying, and playing--and enjoy the changes taking place, embracing them as we begin the slow move to another season of our lives.  Even though our youngest will be under our tutelage another 4.5 years, making the slow and steady transition now makes sense.  

God Bless,

Mr. and Mrs. G

A Blog Representing Both of Us

1 Peter 3:7  

Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, 

as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; 

that your prayers be not hindered. (KJV)

We couldn't very well use our last name, yet, so here is the next best thing.  

Since December 30, 2012, we have grown ever closer in a very special way that I'd never imagined would occur so soon, but it did.  

I've read about "Covenant" marriages, but had never thought of my marriage as a covenant, but it was.  When I stood with Mr. G in front of the Lord making a promise the have and to hold as long as we both shall live, that was a covenant with the Lord and my husband.  While neither of us had ever heard the word covenant and marriage together, it makes sense.

So now, more than ever, we're both convinced that we not only have a covenant marriage, but we are also in agreement with our salvation.  

What a blessing to be "joint heirs together in the grace of life."