As life trudges on before us and the daily grind takes hold, we often forget to stop and give thanks. At least, I do. But life is about giving thanks- "give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you" -1 Thessalonians 5:18. I've started a thanksgiving journal (if you haven't yet, read 1000 Gifts. You won't be sorry), and have decided to do a thanksgiving post bi-weekly on this often neglected blog. For now I'm going to try and do this every Monday, but my work hours will be changing soon, so that may change as well.
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This week (and always) I'm incredibly thankful for my husband. He works so hard and studies so hard. Currently he is taking 6 classes at school, working 1-2 mornings a week at Starbucks, interning at our church where he preaches, teaches, and leads worship, working in the library and as a teaching assistant at the seminary, and working 20 hours a week for an editing company. Just thinking about trying to figure out what his daily schedule is makes me exhausted. Seriously. I just looked at his schedule for this week. He has his days planned out- every hour so that he makes sure he can do everything that he needs to get finished.
I know that he is stressed out because of all that he has to juggle, but he never complains. He never seems to get enough sleep. A lot of nights he crawls into bed with me and stays there until my breaths lengthen and he knows I'm asleep. Then he gets up and goes back to his studies. Often I will wake up in the middle of the night or early in the morning and he's not warming the other side of the bed, but instead he's sitting at the desk across the room, under the glow of the lamplight, prepping to teach Bible Study or editing middle school math lessons. One day last week, he didn't go to bed with me. And when I woke up in the morning to go to work, he was still sitting up, trying to meet a deadline.
And yet, in the midst of all of this, he still finds time for me. He is faithful in studying God's Word with me and praying with me every night. Some nights he's so tired that it's no more than reading a psalm and saying a quick prayer, but he doesn't ever skip it. He encourages me in my running endeavors and runs with me 3-4 times every week. A few times a week he washes, dries, and folds loads of laundry in between doing his schoolwork. He is always willing to help me with whatever it is that I need- dishes, dusting, cleaning the bathrooms. He takes me out on dates. He understands my need for people and is flexible when I decide at the last minute that he has to skip his Sunday afternoon nap so we can get together with friends. And then he still manages to spend time talking with me or making me laugh or just relaxing with me in the evenings.
He is incredible and I know that I don't tell him that enough.
I still marvel that he's actually my husband. This man who loves hard and dreams big is actually mine. Forever. I look forward to where God will take us in the future. Whether our life will be to stay here in Charlotte or to move to the other side of the world or something in between, I know that since we will be together and God will go with us, we can expect great things.
I love you Joshua Grimm, to the moon and back!
