You Invest in What is Important to You

June 3rd, 2005 I married my best friend the one I want to spend the rest of my life with. The one I want to laugh with and share the special moments with, the man I love with everything I have. Fast forward almost 4 years later. I am married to the man I love but we have changed a little, we have become complacent and maybe not invested so much in our marriage as we did in our "newly-wed" days. Don't get me wrong, I adore this man, but now when he doesn't do the dishes it bugs me, when he leaves his underwear on the bathroom floor I don't always think nice thoughts, and when I cook dinner and have to clean up every night I have to admit I get a little aggravated.

For those of you who are married you probably understand what I mean. After awhile it just isn't so new and marriage really takes a lot of work and sometimes we don't work as hard as we should. Jeremy and I had kind of fallen into this rut. We took each other for granted and had become complacent in our marriage. Life just got so busy that we didn't always think of the other person. Last week Jeremy and i were watching the new movie Fireproof and as we watched it I shamely have to admit I thought to myself "man I wish Jeremy would invest in our marriage like that". Much to my surprise the next day while I was at clinical I got a text message from my husband that said "I am excited to see you and I have a surprise for you when you get home". I immediately could not believe I had such a mean thought the night before and began looking forward to going home to my husband. When I got home Jeremy had bought me my favorite yellow gerber daisies and bought the book the "Love Dare".

For those of you who don't know this book is really written for couples who are on the brink of divorce, Jeremy and I are nowhere near that point at all, but this book has great advice and characteristics and things everyone could add to their marriage. Not to mention it forces you to solely focus on you marriage for 40 days. So Jeremy and I begin this journey together about 5 days ago. We have been reading our dare for each day together and then each night we talk about why that dare was hard for us. This has been incredible I have to admit! After just 5 days our marriage feels like new! We are investing in each other every day, thinking about each other all the time and it has forced each of us to be selfless and learn to love each other the way Christ loves us. I am so lucky to have this amazing man in my life, especially since I get to call him my husband. I admire and respect Jeremy so much more than I ever could explain.

This book has not only changed our marriage so far but has also changed me. it has shown me areas of myself that needed a little work, I never realized how hard patience is for me! :) I can't wait to see what the next 35 days has in store for us. I want to encourage all you married ladies out there to invest in your marriages daily, never let them fall into that stagnant place that is so easy to fall into. Although it is hard, and sometimes letting him slide when he said he would do the dishes and doesn't just doesn't seem fun, but your marriage is worth it. I am excited to see God ignite our marriage with passion and most of all a love that will surpass all understanding!