Reflection

Next Sunday Travis and I will have been married for one year!
I can't believe that our first year together has gone by so quickly! I thought that I would take some time to jot down the things I have learned while we are married:

1. Two really are better than one.
The author of Ecclesiastes really did know what he was talking about! Two are better than one in so many ways. First, in the way the verse was intended meaning that if you spiritually walk along side someone else they will keep you accountable and keep your eyes in the right direction. Also, in the day to day I have found how much I love having Travis to come home to! Its so much easier to do the things that I don't want to during the day when I know that I have Travis to see when I am done! Also, I never fully appreciated how wonderful it is to have someone to share the ups and downs of life with; I love knowing that Travis will support and help me now matter what is happening!

2. Boys make the bathroom messy.
I never really grew up much with boys in the house. Stephen and Michael were out of the house by the time I was seven, and so most of my life I lived either with my parents, with girls, or alone. Let me tell you; I did not know what I was in for! The one place that I can notice an appreciable difference in dirty-ness since Travis has moved in is in the bathroom. All of those tiny tiny hairs from shaving get ALL over our white bathroom and they are virtually impossible to clean up entirely! And I won't even talk about the change I have noticed in the toilet. Lets just say I'm needing my cleaning gloves much more frequently than I used to!

3. Being married makes you tired.
I don't know what it is about being married that makes you want to go to bed between 10 and 10.30 every night, but it seems inevitable. This didn't happen to me when I was single, but all of a sudden poof I got married and now I pumpkin at 10 pm. Travis has noticed no difference in his sleeping patterns because he has always preferred to sleep a good 10-12 hrs/night.

4. What a difference a year makes.
Travis and I have seen so much change and growth this past year. As a married couple you learn all of the good and bad about each other, and the trick is to love them through everything. Travis and I spent some time the other night talking about how different things were for us a year ago, about all of the things we have struggled with and how, ultimately, we have grown together because of it.Even though our conversation brought me to tears at times I was so happy to be looking back and to see how much we have changed and grown.

5. It really is about give and take.
When we first got married I wanted so badly to be the perfect wife. To me, I thought that meant looking perfect, having the house perfectly clean for my husband, and cooking healthy gourmet equivalent meals every night. If you haven't figured out, I learned quickly that all of those things weren't going to happen all of the time (who are we kidding, they didn't happen MOST of the time!) I remember a devotional that was in the brides bible Jim and Linda gave me as an engagement present that talked about how we all have a picture in our head of what it means to be a perfect spouse, but that it isn't about being what we considered to be perfect. Its about allowing God to mold us into the perfect fit for our spouse. I realize that I can never be the perfect wife, but I can be the perfect wife for Travis. And that doesn't really have very much to do with our house looking spotless or cooking the best meals in Lubbock. So now when Travis has to help me clean (like he did last night while I was at the hospital all night) I don't feel guilty that he had to help me; I just pray for an opportunity to be able to help him back!

Well that seems like enough for now, if I think of more then I will post Reflections 2.0