Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Reception number 4

Well, there's officially no more celebration of our marriage!  We had our last celebration at Stellenberg (our church) on Sunday afternoon!  It was a little different than the previous ones, but rest assured, the same spirit was shared in that one as in all of the other ones.  It was interesting to read our vows yet again.  It's funny because during this reading, I found that there were quite a few spots where I'd seen I'd already fallen short.  But on the bright side, I am already blessed to have wonderful memories attached on both sides of how we have kept our vows.  

It's amazing to think that this Friday we will have been married for a month!  It has been quite a month, with lots of traveling, etc.  and it's nice to finally be getting settled down.  

I just wrote my best friend in America,  Erica, about a verse that we both have taken solace in, and I wanted to share it with the rest of you.  "But you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.  I cried aloud to the Lord, and he answered me from his holy hill.  I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the Lord sustained me."  ~Psalm 3:3-5

According to the information above the Psalm, David wrote this when he fled from Absalom, his son.  I can't imagine being in the position David was in.  Lot's of uncertainty and very few people on which he could rely.  His own son was trying to pull off a military coup!  Well...my situation can hardly be compared, but sometimes it is difficult because I feel like my situation has lots of uncertainty with it.  That Psalm really encouraged me because it reminded me that each day, God gives us the strength to make it through the situation which he has ordained for us.  With that mindset, I have been able to make more of each day, enjoying smaller activities such as cleaning, reading, and setting up our house. 

Being in unfamiliar territory for the long haul can bring out the worst in a person.  I found that I have quite an impatient streak when I took my last trip to Boardmans.  For those of you who don't know, Boardmans is an upscale kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, decor store.  It's similar to like Pier 1 or something like that.  Well, I had a lot of trouble keeping my cool when I got what I felt to be below adequate customer service.  I had to leave the store and let Matt finish the transaction by himself!  I didn't know I could get so frustrated at something so simple!  

Last night, Matt and I were in the middle of a rather serious prayer when we heard water spilling onto our kitchen floor.  We rushed in only to find that our draining pipe on our washing machine did not drain, and it was draining onto the floor.  Now, we have the pipe sitting in our sink, when we wash clothes.  The washing machine has been quite an issue....two days ago, we broke a part on it and had to wash a load of clothes by hand in the bath tub.  I never knew wringing out wet clothes could be so tiresome!  

Well...that's about it for now.  Matt has been super busy trying to catch up on his work after being sick this past weekend...I'm sure we'll get a blog post out of him some time soon :)

~Rachel

3 comments:

  1. Yay! I'm your best friend! I just started crying when I read that because it made me so happy - but it was one of those cries that reduce you to nothing and all of a sudden the Big Mac I was in the middle of chewing was about to fall out of my mouth and all over the floor. But no worries, I worked hard to keep it all in. Just thought you'd smile to hear about how ridiculous I still am over you. I don't think it'll ever change.

    ~

    And I like what you wrote about reading your vows again. It made me think about Piper and how he and his wife sit down every anniversary to look back on the year they were just blessed to walk through together, and then it made me think about a conversation we had a couple of months ago about always making it a point to look back together over where you have been as husband and wife to then look forward to where you are going. I never thought about it before until now, but wouldn't it be neat if you could sit down with Matt every anniversary and read your vows together again? For good and bad? Because even for all of the humility that would need to be given in admitting wrong before each other, it would lend God such a great chance to grow you closer in a love filled with grace.

    ~

    I have always loved how David writes of God as the lifter of our heads. Probably because I am so often broken in shame before him. Do you remember that night when I left without being able to look at you because of how terrible I felt? I feel like that a lot with God. Especially now. But to read about him as he is a God who lifts up the fallen, it breaks me more than I could ever say. Like the day I was crying in your room, and you grabbed my arm so hard and looked at me with so much intention to tell me how much you cared about me. The ways you love me and how they dare me to believe in God when he promises better... Rachel, you're my best friend.

    ~

    And I couldn't help but laugh over you and your writing about how uncertain tomorrow feels. I just look at where you are and then look at where I am, and it's all kind of laughable. But I guess it just goes to show you that no matter where you are or who you're with, nothing's a given save God. I pray I would believe that. And I pray the both of us wouldn't hope in a more certain tomorrow but would instead always be moving towards finding our comfort in the love and care of our steadfast God.

    ~

    And your washer... haha. Made me think of Bob and your stupid dishwasher back here.

    ~

    I love you!!!

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  2. Um... so my comment's as long as your blog. Sorry about that.

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  3. You? Get frustrated easily?

    "I'm never going to talk to you again! Hunh!"

    Some things NEVER change. May God grant Matt an extra dispensation of patience.

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