"Love and Respect"

Tonight I am feeling very contented.  What a wonderful feeling!

 

Thomas and I have had a really great weekend, and spring break starting doesn't hurt.  But as I get ready for bed, after having spent some wonderful time with my husband this weekend, I feel so blessed and, well, contented.

Over the past few weeks, Thomas and I have been reading Love and Respect by Emerson Eggerichs, and it has been doing a major overhaul on our relationship.  Now, don't get me wrong, we have a great relationship, and we are happily married.  But, we are two human beings with sinful natures, so things can always get better.  We've had it particularly rough for about a year or so, and we've gone through some challenges that have been testing us and our relationship.

So, when I was venting to a friend whom I regard as a wonderful Christian mentor a while back, she suggested that I read Love and Respect.  I'd heard of it and knew the main premise of the book, but I'd never read it.  So, I bought it and started reading.  And just about a day later, Thomas started reading it too.

Woooo!  It has been a kick in the pants!  It is a really tough book to read.  The concepts are simple, but challenging.  Sometimes I have to stop and take a break from it because I'm feeling so convicted or like such a failure.  But, it has made a huge difference!  God has really been working on both of us through this book.

And that is so evident in the weekend we had.  Saturday, I made breakfast; we ate on the porch in the beautiful Florida weather; we spent the morning on the beach; lazed around in the afternoon; I made homemade cinnamon rolls in the evening.  And today, we went to church, played a ton of games of cards, and this evening, we went on a walk and talked and talked and talked.

We've talked more about our relationship than we hardly ever have (even though we've always been really open with each other).  And this weekend, I feel like all of our hard work is starting to pay off.  We still haven't even finished the book, and we're never going to be perfect, but we are taking steps in a great direction.

So as I get ready for bed (and lavish in the thought that I don't have to work tomorrow), I feel so incredibly blessed and contented.  The Lord has given me so much, most of all, a wonderful man to share the rest of my life with.  And I am perfectly happy with that!