Thanks for your responses to the Monday post – What Is 46 Years Worth? Lynda and I are into our third day of celebrating our forty sixth year together. We began doing this not too long ago for anniversaries and birthdays. Try it, seven days is a heck of a lot better than one day, plus you’re not under some outdated time restraint. Who needs those?
Today, as I write from my Study in the Old Village of Mt. Pleasant, I am looking forward to this follow up post about Sustainable Relationships. First, let me report that Lynda and I are still together and grateful that we are, especially having been sheltered in place with each other for almost two months!
One of the most unexpected results of growing old with one another is that when you reach a certain age you realize there is nothing that can separate you short of death and of course death, as many know, lost its power when Jesus was resurrected. Now, if you’re not a follower or a fan of Jesus please do not leave this somewhat brief post as you might find inside of it something of value.
Look, couples should never forget that each tomorrow we live into will in someway be different from yesterday. I had brought up this word in Monday’s post which may have been missed and so I will rebuild it into our conversation here. That word is intention and it should command our attention. Hokey, right? Keep reading.
Intention has kept Lynda and I together for 16,792 days. And the word itself may seem pedestrian at first glance but we’d be wrong to define its impact so quickly.
Over the course of our journey it has been intention that has salvaged our marriage the day after a 10 round fight that left us both reeling and running to our respective corners. You probably know what that’s like, as anyone, who is truly in love, finds within themselves this counterintuitive thought that only love could inspire. That thought; to live is to love, and to love is to honor, and to honor is to REMAIN. It’s as simple as that.
I heard this at a conference I had attended and have used it alongside Lynda in the FOCCUS program we have taught to couples for over twenty years. Some of you reading this will remember it because it is quiet simply hilarious. On the evening we talk about forgiveness when it comes my time to speak I stand in front of the audience and say to the them; “I’d like to share with you why Lynda and I are still married. Anytime we get into a fight, one of us says to the other, Lynda I’m sorry.”
It occurs to me that people who have bought into Jesus’ (there I go again) offer in John 10 to; give us life and describes that life to be abundant, are people who desire a life that is overflowing with life. Whenever we talk about Sustainable Relationships @ Life Community we define it as: A Life that Gives Life.
If we are not intentional about living A Life that Gives Life, then we should not be surprised at the other life we have chosen. We need only examine the investment we have made in our relationships, friendships, and marriages to get a true picture of where we are. All three will take up the majority of your life, but done well, they will also become a testimony for a life lived well.
Lynda and I have spent countless hours building friendships and have come to find that it is this, this longing to converse, connect, and be in community with others that have made the life we chose, to be the life we are living still. It is not merely a piece of who we are, it is what we have given our lives to. The journey with others on this road to Life!
With no regrets (there could have been a few?) we continue. And for now, you are a part of this life we live. And for that, we are grateful to you all. With no regrets!
This weekend I will post another article about the book we are laboring through entitled – PARTICIPATION – An Invitation to Life.
Let’s continue this conversation then.
God’s peace to you all,
MC
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