For Better or For Worse

When my husband and I said our wedding vows over 23 years ago, the phrase, "for better or for worse" was a part of the vows.  It's a good thing they were!  Not that this is the "worst" thing that could happen in a marriage at all, but some of these things, if not handled in a mature way, could become some of the "worst" things.

I've always been clumsy, a little scatter-brained, and have many "blonde" moments (as the jokes say :).  I've learned to deal with these "issues" and just laugh at myself - there isn't anything else I can do.  Well......I suppose I could cry and have at times......but laughing makes it all more bearable!

This photo was taken a few months after we moved in our first owned home.  It's the same one we live in now.....eleven years later.  I think the month was August, though you can't see the month in the photo.  Why?  Because, after I hit the garage all those years ago, and my husband so sweetly drew the circle around it, put my name on it and dated it, I've hit it a few times more through the years!  I guess he didn't want me to forget what I had done!

I've had other "issues" too:  Locking my keys in the car (with the latest one this past Friday in Oklahoma City), locking myself out of the house, backing into other cars in parking lots (with the latest one last Wednesday), scraping the side of our old mini van, backing out of the garage with it still closed, backing into our daughter's car in the driveway, and many, many other situations like that.  Sadly, there have been a lot of situations like that in our 23 years! But, rather than dwell on the problems I've had...and the money they may have cost....and the trials they may have caused at the time, do you know what I remember?  I remember that with each of those problems and situations, my husband's response has always been the same.  He has never once gotten mad or angry in any of the situations.  He has never questioned what I was doing or thinking (maybe he was afraid to ask??: :)  He's never once made me feel worse than I already did, but actually made me feel better.  He's always found a way to make it seem like no big deal.  He's a great example for our boys on how to react to situations they will or may face when they, themselves, are married (although I hope their wives are less clumsy than I am!!).  Joe's response is always kind....it's never mean.

"For better or for worse."  Those simple words in wedding vows really aren't that simple.  They say a whole lot.  They make a bold statement in the commitment of a marriage.  God expected marriages to last through the good and the bad.  That can only happen when there is love, forgiveness, support, and total commitment of both the husband and the wife.  It can only happen with both spouses are willing to make the worst better - not make the worst...worse.  Thank you for your response and reaction, Joe, to all of my "worse" issues!  I love you!

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8