"As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways ...
and my thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:9
My husband brings such joy into my life. After 2 1/2 years of on-and-off dating, a 1 1/2 year engagement and one year of marriage, we certainly have our difficult moments. But I couldn't stop laughing when I walked into the bathroom on another monotonous morning and was serenaded from the shower with the off-key strains of a made-up-on-the-spot, Franky-swank rendition of "I Love my Wifey."
Only God has a crazier sense of humor than my husband. So often I think I know what I want. Then God, in his infinite mercy, gives me exactly the opposite. I can almost imagine Him laughing out loud as I inevitably find out all over again that his design for my life is so much better than my finite mind could have foreseen.
For example, when I was younger I was quite convinced of what I wanted in a future spouse. Aside from the "basics" of solid believer, leader, family-oriented, hard worker, good provider, etc., my husband-to-be had to be musically inclined so we could work in ministry together. He needed to be well-read so we could have in-depth discussions about great works of literature. He couldn't be a sports-fanatic because I'm not particularly athletic, but he definitely needed to share my passion for healthy eating and keeping in shape.
And then God led me beyond any doubt to Dan: a non-musical, unread, steak-loving TU soccer player, avid golfer, bowler, snowboarder, wake boarder, and every-other-athletic-activity-mankind-has-devised-er.
Dan was my "ideal husband" turned inside-out. But as the years have passed, I can't help but marvel at God's masterful orchestration of our relationship. God's ideal was so much better than mine.
Though I can't participate in sports with Dan, I can admire his strength and speed. He, in turn, enjoys my music. Our differing skills challenged us to find new avenues of ministry so we could serve together. Dan had formerly coached soccer leagues for inner-city kids. I worked primarily with church worship teams. Our mutual skills on stage led us to serve the Lord together through drama ministry.
I can't begin to express the joy I've found introducing Dan to the literary classics. No, we can't discuss Tolstoy's character development of Anna Karenina, but he loves it when I read books like The Lord of the Rings or The Chronicles of Narnia aloud to him.
His hobby of DVD-viewing has rubbed off on me. He loves to pick out movies he knows I've never seen and would never dream of watching on my own. Surprisingly, I like most of his choices and I'm willing to watch anything he recommends. Especially since he is most willing to watch the entire five hour BBC rendition of Pride and Prejudice with me. (I think he secretly admires Mr. Darcy. ;-)
His love for steak and deep-fried pork tenderloins has not wavered, but he enjoys chicken too and has been willing to try almost everything I've put on his plate. He still hates "fungus" (i.e. mushrooms), but has come to appreciate the taste and nutritious value of nearly all things green including spinach, asparagus, zucchini, broccoli and green beans. I even have my greasy meat-lover hooked on whole grains, brown rice, black beans and vegetarian chili.
Our minds may run on separate tracks, but that has opened our eyes to new perspectives and challenged our understanding of faith and life. We've learned to relish our differences, explore new horizons and enjoy our occasionally differing points of view.
If someone spoke to a younger version of myself and told me I would marry someone like Dan, I would have laughed and said, "What a crazy idea!"
God has a lot of crazy ideas and all of them fit together in the gigantic puzzle of his master plan. I can't wait to see what "fast ones" he's going to pull on me in the future.
My husband brings such joy into my life. After 2 1/2 years of on-and-off dating, a 1 1/2 year engagement and one year of marriage, we certainly have our difficult moments. But I couldn't stop laughing when I walked into the bathroom on another monotonous morning and was serenaded from the shower with the off-key strains of a made-up-on-the-spot, Franky-swank rendition of "I Love my Wifey."
Only God has a crazier sense of humor than my husband. So often I think I know what I want. Then God, in his infinite mercy, gives me exactly the opposite. I can almost imagine Him laughing out loud as I inevitably find out all over again that his design for my life is so much better than my finite mind could have foreseen.
For example, when I was younger I was quite convinced of what I wanted in a future spouse. Aside from the "basics" of solid believer, leader, family-oriented, hard worker, good provider, etc., my husband-to-be had to be musically inclined so we could work in ministry together. He needed to be well-read so we could have in-depth discussions about great works of literature. He couldn't be a sports-fanatic because I'm not particularly athletic, but he definitely needed to share my passion for healthy eating and keeping in shape.
And then God led me beyond any doubt to Dan: a non-musical, unread, steak-loving TU soccer player, avid golfer, bowler, snowboarder, wake boarder, and every-other-athletic-activity-mankind-has-devised-er.
Dan was my "ideal husband" turned inside-out. But as the years have passed, I can't help but marvel at God's masterful orchestration of our relationship. God's ideal was so much better than mine.
Though I can't participate in sports with Dan, I can admire his strength and speed. He, in turn, enjoys my music. Our differing skills challenged us to find new avenues of ministry so we could serve together. Dan had formerly coached soccer leagues for inner-city kids. I worked primarily with church worship teams. Our mutual skills on stage led us to serve the Lord together through drama ministry.
I can't begin to express the joy I've found introducing Dan to the literary classics. No, we can't discuss Tolstoy's character development of Anna Karenina, but he loves it when I read books like The Lord of the Rings or The Chronicles of Narnia aloud to him.
His hobby of DVD-viewing has rubbed off on me. He loves to pick out movies he knows I've never seen and would never dream of watching on my own. Surprisingly, I like most of his choices and I'm willing to watch anything he recommends. Especially since he is most willing to watch the entire five hour BBC rendition of Pride and Prejudice with me. (I think he secretly admires Mr. Darcy. ;-)
His love for steak and deep-fried pork tenderloins has not wavered, but he enjoys chicken too and has been willing to try almost everything I've put on his plate. He still hates "fungus" (i.e. mushrooms), but has come to appreciate the taste and nutritious value of nearly all things green including spinach, asparagus, zucchini, broccoli and green beans. I even have my greasy meat-lover hooked on whole grains, brown rice, black beans and vegetarian chili.
Our minds may run on separate tracks, but that has opened our eyes to new perspectives and challenged our understanding of faith and life. We've learned to relish our differences, explore new horizons and enjoy our occasionally differing points of view.
If someone spoke to a younger version of myself and told me I would marry someone like Dan, I would have laughed and said, "What a crazy idea!"
God has a lot of crazy ideas and all of them fit together in the gigantic puzzle of his master plan. I can't wait to see what "fast ones" he's going to pull on me in the future.