Great Date #1

My husband and I went on a date last night, engineered by MarriedLife at North Point Community Church. Intrigued by others' experiences with it, we thought we'd give it a shot.

I love to spend quality time with my husband, but we are not really as faithful with a "date night" as we'd like to be, due in part to the fact that we both just enjoy being together as a family with E. So, on this rare occasion, it was nice to have a little guidance to step outside the norm of dinner and a movie (when we have $), or coffee at the book store (when we don't).

Each step was a portion of a meal (at different locations) and a series of questions. If you remember, open-ended questions make me nervous. Really nervous. My husband, on the other hand, is relishing this opportunity to discuss questions like, "I get a kick out of watching you...," "Something special about you that not many people see is...," or "The thing I love about you most is...." If you've ever been running and you hit that "brick wall," where you think you cannot take another step but you know you still have to get home somehow, then you know exactly how I felt after Question #1. I'm thinking, "Lord, please just get me through this! I know I am honoring my husband by being really thoughtful and honest about all this, and I want to give this gift of words of affirmation and communication to him. But I cannot do this without your help!!"

Eighteen questions later, I finished the marathon. And you know what? The journey was a little uncomfortable, but the end goal was beautiful. It was a giant leap out of my comfort zone, to be sure. It still isn't necessarily a date that I'd do again without my stomach doing a little flip-flop warning of insecurity. But sometimes, in order for us to grow, we have to step outside of ourselves. The greatest part is that I have a husband who understood and who laughed with me about my struggles with this type of communication. The honesty of last night, for me, wasn't necessarily in the answers to the questions, but in the fact that no matter how I answer the questions, he still loves me for who I am. The reassurance of that truth strengthened my love and respect for him.

As a note, the thing I love about my husband most is...that he is safe. I trust without a doubt that he is always running hand-in-hand with me toward Christ, and that if I stumble, he is there to help me up. He's an incredible father, and I can't think of another person who has a more real and transparent relationship with the Lord.