New Trails in Familiar Places

I wanted to share this exerpt from a beautiful book that I'm reading called My Sister's Keeper: (I'll do a review next week. I'm hoping that lots of you are reading it and will tell me your thoughts. I'm dying to talk to someone about it!)


"When you have been with your partner for so many years, they become the glove comparment map that you've worn dog-eared and white-creased, the trail you recognize so well you could draw it by heart and for this very reason keep it with you on journeys at all times. And yet, when you least expect it, one day you open your eyes and there is an unfamiliar turnoff, a vantage point that wasn't there before, and you have to stop and wonder if maybe this landmark isn't new at all, but rather something you have missed all along."

This passage resonated in my heart as to how I feel about Barry. Even though we've been married 18 years, there are still surprises--childhood stories untold, emotions revealed and thoughts shared. That's been especially true as we've begun studying and praying together. We each have our own quiet time, but we've recently started having one together. We've started this lots of times, but this time I believe it has staying power. Here are the tips we picked up from Harry and Stefini Greer at Festivals of Marriage.

• Set a goal. We started with a goal of 4 times a week. I think we may have to back it up to 3, but we'll see. We're striving for consistency, and our kids never seem to go to bed before us anymore. That makes it hard!
• Follow the initiator. The rule is that when one person says, "Let's study!" the other always has to say "yes". This helps both of us feel ownership for our time.
• Make it "doable". I tend to think in an all or nothing way. When I set a goal for study, it's often unattainable. Failure inevitabily comes, and I throw in the towel. With our time, we're keeping it short (10-15 minutes) and just a few days a week. One Saturday, we had a wonderful time and ended up spending almost an hour. That was fantastic! It's also unrealistic that we'd be able to sustain that amount of time 4 times a week, so our official goal is lower. I'll look forward to those times that we can really dig in and lollygag in the Word!

Next week I'll keep my promise and give a little outline of how we spend our time. It's just amazing how hearing my man read God's Word sets my heart on fire for Jesus and for Barry! This is a new path that has been well worth taking.