Four Years of Loving and Learning

With all the excitement of planning Christmas and getting gifts for Isaiah and each other, Thomas and I somehow managed to not remember that our 4th wedding anniversary was the 27th of December. I say "not remember" because we didn't really forget, but we didn't exactly remember to plan anything specific for the very day. We have already reserved some babysitters for an evening while we are in Germany...but those details are for another very exciting post to come. :)

So anyway, one morning we were sitting in the kitchen, when I very anxiously asked Thomas if he had any plans for Thursday (our anniversary). I was secretly hoping that he hadn't thought about it because only the day before had I realized that I hadn't thought about it! Thankfully I was answered with a fearful sounding, "um....no". I could tell that Thomas was afraid that I would be offended (being married at least 4 years helps with that, though we still have so much to learn!). I quickly tried to reassure him that I had nothing planned and no expectations of him. I had to repeat this a couple of times, but finally he did believe me and we both began laughing, which started Isaiah laughing, which made us laugh more, which made Isaiah laugh more, well you get the picture.

I think most couples enjoy spending time together on their wedding anniversaries, and Thomas and I are no different, but we also really enjoy spending time with our Little Man, so we decided to make our anniversary celebration a family affair. For details on how the day was spent, feel free to check out Thomas' post on our family blog.It's amazing how much you can learn about yourself in four years, and how much more you can learn when you're living with someone every day! I always knew that I was a sinner in need of sanctifying grace, but WOW!, has marriage ever shown me just how selfish and sinful I am! Jesus' command in John 13 for His disciples to love one another so that the world would know that they are His disciples makes more and more sense as I continue to interact with other people. The vast majority of people are not difficult to love most of the time, and Thomas is certainly not difficult to love, but I get in the way so often. By learning how to love as Christ loves His people and having His mind, I must lay aside myself, which I don't always want to do! As someone who likes to please other people, it might look like I am laying aside myself, but all to often my motives are still quite selfish!

I am thankful that God has given me such a loving and gracious spouse who for these past four years has helped me to learn more about God and about myself and about how I can better live for God! Being able to learn in such a grand relationship certainly helps make the process of sanctification a lot more fun at times!