The Room
How much Jesus loves us…
+AMDG+
Author: msdyogi
In Pursuit of Love
It’s 3:24 in the morning. I had to finish because I was having a really “off” evening and something pushed me to get it done. The story – Part One. You can find it under “About” to your right, or you can click here.
It will always give me hope in what God can do for our marriage because He was the one who made it all happen. On good days, our story will make me smile. On harder days, it will keep us on track.
I never wrote a Part Two about our engagement…or a Part Three about our wedding…or a Part Four about our kids. But I can remember so much of the days that followed that New Year’s Eve, and I am awestruck at the blessings and graces we have been given over the past five years. By no means do we have a perfect relationship. I’m half of it and just flawed as anybody else. I am so thankful, though, that He keeps us faithful. In good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, ’til death do us part.
Because “God blessed the broken road that led me straight to you…”
From the bottom of my heart, I love you, Gary. I really do.
+AMDG+
Falling deeper in love
I’ve been retyping our story for you. Not quite done yet, but almost. It’s the next “big thing” that I’m going to add to the blog. Why? Because people ask, and it’s a fun read. At least for me, it is. =)
Yes, people want to know how we met. Or where I found him. I actually didn’t find him. He found me…on MySpace.
“For real?”
You read correctly, friends. As my SPOC student Yousy recently exclaimed, “But there are MILLIONS of people on MySpace!! How could you find her out of all those people?!”
God works in mysterious ways.
And the whole story is about God working…that’s why I need to tell it and friends have loved listening…to the “Cliff notes” version, that is. But since we are all so busy these days, I thought I’d share it here for you to read for yourself and see how He changed my heart. It does me a whole lot of good to read it myself again and again because it helps me see how Providence truly reigns supreme. God is SO good. So good.
Our story also makes me appreciate the man I chose to marry. Ordinary life is full of ordinary days. The vocations of marriage and parenting are incredibly fulfilling, but we are not spared the challenges and difficulties that come with them. Some days I forget who he is for me, and coming back to the journey God took us on in our early days makes me realize all over again that as human as Gary is…he is still AMAZING.
How does the story play into the theme of purity? Our entire relationship has served most of the inspiration for the content of this blog. Yes, there is much more to tell…much more to share than what you will read in “Part One”. You just have to keep in touch and wait to find out…
+AMDG+
Common Ground
A few weeks ago, I was sitting around talking with my sisters and our husbands, asking each other what we had in common as married couples. What started as a pretty funny, light-hearted discussion brought us to the realization that our shared Catholic faith had a lot to do with why we married each other and stay committed – through good times and bad. The girls’ interests are different from the guys’ interests…they love sports, we don’t…they have their own music interests, we have ours…etc. etc. etc. So at first we were laughing because we’d ask each other, “So what do you guys have in common?” and the wife would answer, “Uhhh…we’re Catholic?” because she couldn’t think of anything else on the spot. And the one question that was running through my mind was: How is it that we got married with only one thing in common?
It’s not that we really don’t have other things in common and don’t appreciate the fact that we have our faith as the center of our relationships. After thinking about it, Gary and I both like a lot of the same things…and I know it’s true for my sisters and their husbands. Robby brought up the fact that he and my sister Emeline both love their son Jacob. Shared love for our children is a wonderful plus to add to the relationship because as a couple, it takes definite teamwork to raise a child in this world. Our personalities also go really well together, so we see each other as a great complement to who we are as individuals, as opposed to being exactly the same. Mike made a really good point: “If you have everything in common, then it can get kinda boring.” I personally love the fact that my own husband loves to cook (so I can learn how) and sprinkles my day with fun factoids (or new dance moves!).
But what I’m trying to say is that I think it was really awesome that we could all say that being able to live out our Catholic faith in our marriages is No.1 for us. We all go to Mass with our spouses, pray with them, talk about Scripture with them, serve the Church alongside them, and ground our values in the teachings of Jesus Christ. What we teach our children and how we discipline them are also guided by our beliefs, and we try our best to be good witnesses to our families, friends, and other people we meet. It’s HUGE.
So praise God for that conversation because I know that none of us would choose anything else to rank above. Every once in awhile, I’ll feel bad that I’m so NOT a sports freakazoid like Gary is because he’s all about any and every sport out there. He listens to sports, watches sports, plays sports, talks about sports, works sports, and he LOVES his Frisco teams. Me? I tolerate it. =) But what good would it do if we both loved sports that much but didn’t have a common faith?
I don’t mean to downplay the commitment other couples may have who don’t happen to associate themselves with a particular religion or spirituality. There are people out there as such who have no problem staying married to someone for the rest of their lives. I just can’t imagine (for ourselves) how things would have turned out if we couldn’t fall back on the Word of God and the moral compass given to us by Mother Church. As my mom always says, even being married to a wonderful husband or wife can get difficult. Life is full of joys and sorrows, hopes and disappointments. The graces given to us through the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony and the oneness of faith we have in our marriages have sustained us through miscarriages, major financial decisions, illnesses, and other unexpected stressors.
Besides all this, it’s nice to know that on very ordinary days when we are tempted to take our spouses for granted, we can think back and remember…”This is the gift God wanted to give me to show how much He loves me.”
+AMDG+
True fidelity
In the recent weeks, I have had more than a few conversations about relationships and marriage…a couple of them light-hearted and amusing…some very hopeful and others very sobering.
My family and friends have been reflecting on their own situations and realizing that they’re all being called to a higher “state of being”, I guess you could say. The young married couples are growing more grateful for the spouses God gave them. The single folks are finding ways to prepare themselves for “The One” He will send them someday. Those who have ended dating relationships are learning to live their lives apart from a love they once hoped would last forever.
I’ve been on my own path of enlightenment, too – especially after rereading the story I wrote of the developing friendship I had with Gary before our courtship. In the spurts of free time I have during the day, I also read snippets of books I’ve had for a few years…trying to see how I can be a better wife and best friend to the man I pledged the rest of my life to.
In Romancing Your Husband, the author talks about communication infidelity. Even if a wife is not outrightly cheating on her husband, there are verbal and nonverbal ways that she can be unfaithful to him. Debra White Smith says, “If you live a life of verbal fidelity with your mate, your words praise him, encourage him, and generally build him up. If you live a life of verbal infidelity with your mate, then your words will criticize, bite, or discourage him.” If a wife is also belittling her husband in front of others or behind his back, she is not supporting him or trying to help him be a better person.
The funny thing is that the whole Jon & Kate plus 8 crisis/divorce has forced me to ask a lot of questions about relationships I may not have otherwise thought of if we weren’t following the show so closely (if you don’t know what I’m talking about, just pick up a tabloid at the grocery store…it’s quite a sad story). Whenever I’d notice Kate being mean to Jon, it would force me to think about the tone of voice I use or comments I make…wondering if there’s a little but of Kate in me, too.
St. Peter in his first letter tells married couples to be “of one mind: share each other’s troubles with mutual affection, be compassionate and humble (1Pt 3:8).” So I personally am trying harder to be the help-mate God made me to be for Gary. It’s not that I’ve been horrible to him or verbally abusive, but if I tell myself I”m not that bad and excuse away little things that I know I shouldn’t be doing or saying, then I might be chipping away slowly at his self-esteem. After a while, he won’t feel respected and loved or even valued as a man and the head of our family.
This is my lesson for the day, and I welcome it with all of my heart. We all have things to work on within ourselves and this is a good step in the right direction. Amen!
+AMDG+
And all God’s children said, “Amen!”
Wow, what a day…
I was excited…nervous…and I couldn’t get to sleep last night but it was all worth it! When Jason asked me to speak at the Youth Prayer Rally, I jumped at the chance without realizing how involved we would really get with it. I felt so strongly about sharing God’s message of Love with the youth, so I volunteered to give a prep talk at one of their meetings a few weeks ago. Since then I’ve seen how powerfully the Holy Spirit has been working in this group and I praise God for their open minds and hearts. It has been one amazing journey.
From the lesson on chastity to the hula session leading up to tonight, we have been so in awe over the fire God has lit in the souls of these kids. Praise God for “Marco Antonio”, Abby, Toni, Jason, Joanne, Nicole, and the other young adults at Holy Family who have been guiding this group along the way. I am so grateful for the work He is doing through each one of them because it gives me hope for the future of my own children. If we can revolutionize the culture we live in, great things can happen. Granted that it will not happen without some sacrifice, we have the prayers of all the angels and saints and the grace of God Himself to make it all possible.
Here are snippets of the blessings we have received through this community…
Hula session at Youth Night
Kakolika – “The Prayer”
Kakolika – “How Great is Our God”
YPR 2009 Beloved shirt
Thank you, UTC, for the inspiration and opportunity to share this night with you!
+AMDG+
Holy Family YPR 2009 – Beloved
“Beloved, we are God’s children and what we shall be has not yet been shown. Yet when he appears in his glory, we know that we shall be like him, for then we shall see him as he is. All who have such a hope try to be pure as he is pure.” (1Jn 3:2-3)
Reclaiming the purity of this generation… There’s so much to say and so much to do. Lord, help me remember that this is Your work…always by Your grace. Amen.
A New Beginning
July 8, 2006 – Rose Ceremony at our wedding
purity and hope…sacrifice and love…’til death do we part…confirming our faith in God and in one another…the whole reason why I started all of this
As He Loves Ministries 