Steps to aGreat Marriage (#2)

I apologize to those of you who regularly check this blog for updates for not updating sooner. Debbie continues to improve, get stronger, (though it is hard to recognize it) and take on more everyday tasks. Her spirit is strong.

Here is one quick example of how she is improving. Yesterday she cleaned house for only the second time (since May) without my help. About a month ago (the first time she did it without my help) it pretty well wiped her out for the day, so I helped her the past three weeks. Yesterday, after she finished, I took her to the Lawn and Garden Show at the Civic Center in Arlington for 3 hours. I think my back hurt more than hers! ha. That is when she realized how much more she had improved.

As I mentioned in the previous blog, this past year has been our worst but our best year of marriage for it has taken us to a new level in our relationship. So here are some more Steps to a Great Marriage.

4. Lead Out in Prayer.

Praying together is of course a no brainer. That is when you allow spiritual intimacy into your relationship as you open your hearts to God and each other and pray for each other.

5. Let Go of Sin.

The theological term for this is confess your sin. The Greek for confess was a puzzle to me as a first year Greek student for the compound word for confession was literally "same speak" or "say the same thing". Then the teacher explained that confession is saying the same thing that God says about your sin. Boy, that puts it in a different light. So I had to confess my selfishness before the Lord. I have always struggled (well, okay, sometimes I struggled) with my selfishness. But I had to really come clean with this character flaw this past spring in order to serve my sweetheart and to let our love grow.

6. Learn to Love Unconditionally.

Agape love was the result of that confession and repentance. I had to deal with that idolatry of self (that is what selfishness is - idolatry! That puts it in a different light too.) But I learned that the more I served her, the more I loved her unconditionally, and God was answering a prayer that I had prayed for years. Here is a small example. I am very practical, and I think the dumbest waste of time and effort many people practice each day is making the bed. Why make it when you are going to crawl back into it each night? Over the years, Deb would often "rope me" into helping her make the bed before I left each morning. Well, during the 9 days she was in the hospital, I never made a bed! However when she came home from the hospital, I began making the bed every morning (all by myself), because I knew it was important to her. I don't think I have missed a day doing it since, and now I don't mind it. It is something that blesses her, and for the past 4 or 5 months, she has helped me do it! As my dad used to say, "Ain't love grand!"

May God bless you,
dj and dj
PS Marcos started selling cell phones for Radio Shack at Sam's in January. This past month he was the top salesman in the DFW district and among the top 25 salesmen in the nation. We are pleased with his progress. Tracy continues to do well in his work too.