Guess what?! Yeah, you got it.. My best friend and I have been married for a year!!
Pretty sweet, hey?! I sure think so!
I must say though, that it was nothing like the year that I thought it would have been at all! But that's ok.. life is like that sometimes..
you know that year when you are more on your face or your butt than you were on your feet?! Yeah, well that is kinda the type of year we had..
Along the way, though, I/we have learned some pretty valuable lessons about life; I have learned more about my amazing husband and more about myself; and I have learned that
sometimes things aren't what they seem at all..even when the majority says it is... imagine that, hey?! And so so much more! Through it all, I can say that I wouldn't want to do this thing called "life" or "marriage" with anyone else, but you, Ridge!!
So.. if you're interested in reading some of the top things I have learned, read on...
"My husband and God's opinion are really the only opinions that matter.. everyone else's comes second to theirs "
I believe this is actually one of the most important Truths I have learned this year. If you know me somewhat well at all, you probably know that I am a people pleaser, through and through, and it is something I daily have to work on. Throughout this year, there have been many times that individuals have wanted me to do something or be someone that I can't or am not. Ridge reminded me again and again that at the end of the day, I stand accountable to God and am covered by Christ and by my husband. If I am honouring and obeying God with how I am living and honouring and respecting my husband, than nothing anyone else thinks or says really matters. It just doesn't. This is one sweet Truth, I must say!
"Being a wife is so much more about being than doing"
I remember the day when I asked Ridge, "What can I do to be a better wife to you?" I was expecting this long "To Do" list of things I could do for him or help him with, etc. But to my surprise, it was anything but. His response, "Just be with me and learn me" ....
"What?!" thinks my flabbergasted little brain, "That's it?!?" After I was able to recover from my shock.. haha kinda kidding, but yet not.. I realized how so many times I think I need to "do" all these things for Ridge to show him that I love him, when what he actually wants and needs is for me to just "be" with him, support him and learn more about who he is as a person, a man and my friend. Tell me I'm not the only wife that has struggled with this one?! :)
Never say, "Everything must be bliss for you two" or "you are such newly weds"
If we were given a dollar for every time someone told us this, we would be rich! No joke. I'm sure no one ever means a phrase along these lines to be hurtful, but when it was said to us, it really was. Ridge and I were married 10 days after my sister, Grace, tragically died in a car/bike accident. The 2 weeks before the wedding looked NOTHING like we thought they would! Heck, I didn't even know if I was gonna get to wear a wedding dress or have to wear jeans and t-shirt. Our time, energy and focus of my entire family was on the funeral til just a few days before the wedding and even then, it was just trying to survive and get thru the day. It had to be that way with the circumstances, it just did. And then, just because you get married, doesn't mean the grief stops.. it doesn't. Imagine having to ditch every single expectation; throw out any and all the plans you had for before the wedding and after the wedding; you are no longer going on a honeymoon and your wife relapsed into health issues to the point where you can't even touch her arm some days cause of pain.. and this just touches the tip of the iceberg so to speak of what our marriage was at the beginning.. yet our life is bliss? No, it wasn't. It was really hard. Not complaining here, just being real. If you feel like you have /need to say something to a newly married couple how about saying, "I'm really happy for you two" or "Your wedding was beautiful". But for everyone's sake, ditch the "Everything is bliss" phrase. Bliss isn't real life and not everyone gets to experience the "newlywed stage" when they get married. You never know what circumstances a newly married couple is going through, so honestly, just be real and love them in a real way, don't just say things to say something..
We need to stop treating hurting people/indivuals like a project and stop giving "Jesus/everything is going to be better/happens for a reason" answers
Ok, I'm going to be really honest here.. and this might step on a few toes, but thats ok. You have the choice to read this or not to read this, thats totally up to you..
But honestly we have got to stop this! And I will come first up to bat and say that I am so guilty of this one and am first in line to receive this rebuke. That being said..
The number of times someone has come up without really listening to what is going on in life and given Ridge or I a "Jesus answer" or told us to just "trust in God".. again, I would be rich. Absolutely, those things are true, but why do we feel the need to give advice when we have never walked one step in that persons /families shoes?! Why do we think we know the "right" answer to their looming situation when we really haven't taken the time to really, truly listen to them?! And why do we think we always have to say something to be encouraging?! Could it be that we answer out of pride? Or we answer cause we don't want to be uncomfortable? Or we answer cause we just don't know what else to do?? But then, really, aren't we just making that individuals already painful situation/circumstances even more painful?! That is anything but loving and encouraging.. don't you think?
Encouragement does not always equal saying something. Encouragement and compassion is entering into that persons situation; it is sitting in the rain and getting all wet with them. It is dancing in the sun because something great just happened and they need someone to celebrate that victory. It is not just sitting in the storm with them, but staying in that storm with them..
Honestly, we need to stop treating people like they are projects, that can be given a quick answer and its just suppose to be encouraging. If you look at Jesus' life, He entered into the messiness head on. He didn't shirk it cause it was uncomfortable, so why are we??
God's love for me is bigger, deeper, wider and greater than I will ever be able to fathom, comprehend, understand or dream!!
This is kinda two-fold in that through our marriage I have seen and experienced Ridge's love for me, a wonderful and amazing love, though imperfect as we are sinful; but nonetheless, something so beautiful and profound. I have also seen, experienced and realized in a bigger way, God's love for me, which is love and perfection at its best. Something that has never made sense to me is how much Ridge loves me.. which is a lot! And honestly, I don't understand why he loves me like he does. But then I stop and think, if a man can love me this much, how much more God?! God, the Creator of the universe, the Lord of Lord, Kings of Kings-He knows my name, has been pursuing a relationship with me since the beginning, loved me when I was against Him, and died a brutal death just so I could have the chance to have a relationship with Him for all of eternity. Really, stop and think about that.. how incredible, hey?!
So there you go, the top 5, among many things that I have learned this past year/during our first year of marriage. And I am so looking forward to the many more years I get to spend with this amazing guy!! :)