Marriage Is Not a Day Spa; It's a Gym

This weekend, James and I went to a couples' retreat at our church.  It was an excellent (and WAY convicting) weekend, to say the least!  :)  While the topics were pretty foundational, they were presented in a way that really hit home and caused me to examine myself as a wife, and more importantly, as a child of God.  These types of messages are so important so as to remind me of what God's standards are and where I am (hint: no where even remotely close). 

The first session was the "Marriage Blueprint," taken from Genesis 1 and 2.  Pretty basic, but a much-needed and important lesson.  His first point: "Marriage is a commitment designed by God for God."  Yeah, I think we all know that, but how is that manifested in my marriage?  It was designed by God for God.  Guess what that means?  That means that my marriage is not for ME!  This simple, but very deep, thought is really where problems in a marriage begin.  When I begin thinking that my marriage is for me, I start to become bitter, upset, angry, unloving - all because it is not exactly how I pictured it or how I would prefer it to be.  My desires and expectations are not met.  Realizing that I am not in this marriage to benefit myself changes everything!!!  I am not married so that my life can be easier.  I am not married so that I can have more fun.  I am not married so that I can feel appreciated.  I am not married so that I can gain anything!  I am married to bring glory to God!!!  Having this sort of mindset makes it so much easier when the rough times come!  No matter how much I think I deserve or what I want to get out of the marriage, I will never be disappointed if I know that this isn't all about me.  It makes it easier to forgive, to serve, to love.  Christians are always trying to "work on" their marriages - make them stronger and better, which isn't a bad thing.  Marriage is hard and it does take work (hence, the gym, not a day spa).  However, our motivation for working on our marriage is important.  Am I trying to improve/strengthen my marriage so that I'll be happier and life will be easier?  Or am I trying to have a godly marriage because that is what glorifies the Lord?

"For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities - all things have been created through Him and for Him."  Colossians 1:16

A Trip to the ER and a Wonderful Reminder!

It's been a while, so I guess it's time for an update on the Parker family! As some of you know, we've have a busy week. Hannah started to get sick last week and the sickness progressed until we finally decided that we should probably take her to the doctor. Poor girl wasn't eating, was coughing up a storm, and didn't want to play. All she wanted to do was to cuddle, which I took advantage of, since she's not a cuddler! We weren't able to get an appointment, so Friday night, James took Hannah to urgent care, which ended up being a much longer than anticipated trip. Urgent care opens at 5, so James thought he would get there when it opened so it would be a quick in and out trip. However, 2 hours later, they finally got into the room and waited another half hour before seeing the doctor. Good thing he took a book with him! As it turned out, Hannah had croup. When I came home (I wasn't at the doctor, because I was at a women's function at church), I found all the lights off in the house, and Hannah and James snuggled up in a chair together. Hannah was sound asleep and it was so precious to see!!!

Fast forward to 4:30 Saturday morning. Hannah woke up coughing (which woke me up), and she couldn't stop, so I went in to check on her. I picked her up and we finally managed to get her to stop coughing; however, she was having a hard time breathing. I woke James up to get his help. I took her outside in the cool night air, while James called the advise nurse. She recommended that we take Hannah in, so to the Emergency Room we went. We were pleasantly surprised by how quickly they got us in, and the nurses were wonderful! Any time Hannah would fuss, they would run in to check on her. One time, another baby was crying, and our nurse came in, saying, "Oh, I thought that was Hannah!" :) It was good to know our little girl was being cared for by some wonderful and caring nurses! Hannah did an amazing job, considering we were there for about 5 1/2 hours. They took an x-ray and diagnosed her with pneumonia. Thankfully we caught it early, so it wasn't serious and she didn't have to be admitted to the hospital. They gave her some medication to help with the croup and also sent us home with some amoxicillin (which she LOVES, by the way) for the pneumonia. We finally (almost) have our happy, smiley little girl back!

All that to say, it was so hard as her mother, to just sit and watch her be sick. She didn't understand what was going on. All she knew is that she didn't feel good and mommy and daddy weren't doing anything to make her feel better. :( It broke my heart to watch her just sit on the floor, surrounded by her favorite toys, but not wanting to play with them (or have enough energy to play with them). My little baby who smiles almost all day long didn't smile at all. You could see her uncomfortableness in her eyes. And there was nothing I could do to make her feel better. I wished there was some way I could be sick instead of her. Then it hit me. While I wasn't able to take Hannah's sickness from her, our Heavenly Father was able to take our "sickness" away from us! We were all so much more sick than Hannah was (we were all actually dead in our sins) and God DID take our "sickness" from us and put it on Himself when He sent His Son to die for us on the cross. Wow! What a good reminder and picture of His magnificent love for us! Sadly, it is so easy for me to forget the sacrifice God made for us by sending His Son to cleanse and redeem me from my sins. However, even in my forgetfulness or neglect, God is gracious to remind me in so many different ways. Again, I am so thankful for the precious picture of the Gospel that can be seen through the family. It's just one more avenue God has to get His message through my thick skull!