A ship is safest in the harbor, but that's not what ships were made for.
Philip and I went to our neighborhood picnic yesterday. It felt awkward, as we seemed to be the only ones there who didn't bring a kidlet or two. We live in graduate and family housing but they should really call it husband, wife, and 2.5 kids housing because that's 90% of our neighbors. The other 9% seems to be international students attending grad school who keep to themselves because they're always studying, studying, studying. All of this leads to us feeling a little out of place sometimes. There are definitely perks: I'll never have to smoke second hand marijuana, or be kept up by loud gangster music like when I lived in the dorms.
As we ate our free food in the grass--not mingling--this couple singled us out. They sat right next to us and started asking us questions. They seemed genuinely interested in getting to know us; they didn't just talk about the weather or the traffic that's returned since school started again. Like us, they got married young. They didn't have kids and they'd been married four years. As we shared our aspirations to someday be teachers in an impoverished community, the man shared this quote with us. He asked us if we went to a church in town, and we shared with him our place of worship. We parted ways and will probably never see them again.
I went home and burst into tears, "We should be more like them." As people who love Jesus, that's more what we should be: friendly, caring, reaching out to others even if it seems a little awkward. But we're just young and scared and, truth be told, we have no idea what we're doing. Phil calmed me down and explained that they are older than us and have been married a lot longer than us. He believes that our marriage will be a lot better in four years. And that the way we reach people will be a lot better in four years. Our goal is to keep growing--for the rest of our lives.
I suspect that the couple has no idea they impacted our lives. They motivated us. They inspired us. They helped us to be honest about where we're at, but press on towards growth.
Philip and I went to our neighborhood picnic yesterday. It felt awkward, as we seemed to be the only ones there who didn't bring a kidlet or two. We live in graduate and family housing but they should really call it husband, wife, and 2.5 kids housing because that's 90% of our neighbors. The other 9% seems to be international students attending grad school who keep to themselves because they're always studying, studying, studying. All of this leads to us feeling a little out of place sometimes. There are definitely perks: I'll never have to smoke second hand marijuana, or be kept up by loud gangster music like when I lived in the dorms.
As we ate our free food in the grass--not mingling--this couple singled us out. They sat right next to us and started asking us questions. They seemed genuinely interested in getting to know us; they didn't just talk about the weather or the traffic that's returned since school started again. Like us, they got married young. They didn't have kids and they'd been married four years. As we shared our aspirations to someday be teachers in an impoverished community, the man shared this quote with us. He asked us if we went to a church in town, and we shared with him our place of worship. We parted ways and will probably never see them again.
I went home and burst into tears, "We should be more like them." As people who love Jesus, that's more what we should be: friendly, caring, reaching out to others even if it seems a little awkward. But we're just young and scared and, truth be told, we have no idea what we're doing. Phil calmed me down and explained that they are older than us and have been married a lot longer than us. He believes that our marriage will be a lot better in four years. And that the way we reach people will be a lot better in four years. Our goal is to keep growing--for the rest of our lives.
I suspect that the couple has no idea they impacted our lives. They motivated us. They inspired us. They helped us to be honest about where we're at, but press on towards growth.
3 comments:
Oh, I know how this feels! My hubby and I have been married for 7 years and even though that might seem like forever (to us, haha), we're still growing and figuring out who and what we want to be when we "grow up." ;) Marriage is a journey and can be a tough one at that at times. God probably sent that couple to you to encourage you. :)
I'll be praying for you and your hubby!
Thanks for linking up. :)
This is amazing. I am so glad you commented on my blog so I could find yours (following you now!). I feel the same way you do. I have been married almost a year and honestly I feel we haven't grown as a couple very much. We have really slacked off in praying together, and a lot of this is due to husband work 12 hours a day and me going to bed very early most nights because I always feel sick with my medicines lately, but still.... this post has inspired and motivated ME. I am so glad you shared this. Now feel better since you impacted someone with it!
xo,
ashley
what a fun surprise to see that the "leaving the harbor" link on mama marchand's thought for thursday was you :) i love the way you write.
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