I woke this morning to the storm still going from last night. It was dreary, wet, gray, and cold... definitely the kind of day no one wants to get out of bed for, except my husband. Joe Davis, just like every morning, pops out of bed like its Christmas morning. Rain or shine he wakes and is ready to embrace the day. Meanwhile, I lie there thinking about all there is to do, how sore I am, how I have nothing cute to wear on a day like this, and how much I just want to skip today and move onto a day that is literally and metaphorically sunnier. A day when I am not overwhelmed by what lies ahead and underwhelmed by what I feel I have to offer.
Lots of lessons are being learned here in Charlottesville. Some are coming from the results of mistakes made, some are coming from the great ministers at our new church, and most are coming from being around my dear Joe. So, being completely bewildered as to why anyone would be as emphatic as he is about this unpleasant Tuesday morning, I started to study the differences between our situations. I thought maybe the 2nd week of law school is just much more exciting than the 3rd month of a new and demanding job. But is it really better? Long lectures, walking 20 minutes in the cold rain? Better, but not by a whole lot...so maybe I just have a bad attitude? Then I picked up on a very long, ongoing reflection of myself... what made us so different?
My conclusion? Joe takes care of himself. He loves others as he loves himself, and he doesn't put too much stock in being perfect for everyone at every moment... I mean no wonder I get overwhelmed!
God created us to love ourselves, because, after all, we are created in His image and are His children. Just as my parents think the world of me and think I should think the world of myself, so does God. Then, He wants us to take that love for ourselves and love others the same way. I won't say Joe is PERFECT by any means, who is?, but this is one thing my husband absolutely has figured out.
God didn't intend for us to be everything for everyone. That's his job. And this is a lesson I am painfully learning. I think a lot of us out there feel that if we aren't doing everything exactly as everyone expects we are not worthy. But if we, including myself, continue using perfection in the eyes of other imperfect humans as our measuring stick, we are just going to continue to be sorely disappointed in ourselves, and as a result, not want to face grim days like today.
I think God hands us days like today to say this world is not perfect. It has been tarnished with sin and imperfection. However, if we look to God instead of others to find our worth, so then we will find our rays of sunshine.
I am sorry to preach, especially on our NEWLYWED blog, but I feel that the lessons I am learning are from being married to such a Godly man. We both learn from each other daily.
Good luck to all of you finding sunshine on stormy days!
"No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us."
1 John 4:12 ESV
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