Pastor's been doing a 3 week series on marriage. I missed church last week because we were out of town attending a funeral. I'll have to be sure to listen to last week's message on-line.
Today's sermon was, well, very straight forward. He covered enough to probably make everyone in the room uncomfortable at some point (including me).
But, at the same time, I thought it was an awesome message. Our Pastor was blessed with a very good sense of humor, and he applies it well. If you're interested, you can click on the top link in the green box to the right of this website to hear what he had to say on the topic of Christian marriage.
Mr. FtK and I will be celebrating our 15th wedding anniversary this coming June. I can't believe it's been 15 years already. It seems like just yesterday that I met him...in a bar of all places. I had just pulled myself away from a very trying 2 1/2 year relationship with a guy who I knew, deep down, was a poor choice on my part, but I just couldn't seem to break it off. We were almost married...had even bought the invitations, but luckily we called it off before we made it to the altar. Thanks goodness!!
When I met Mr. FtK, I was at the point many of us go through at one time or the other in our lives. I decided I was through with men...I was ready to just stay single because of the crap I had dealt with in my previous relationship. So, here I was commiserating with a friend of mine and swearing off men for good when I glance toward the end of the bar, and here's this dark, handsome guy staring at me. I mentioned it to my friend, and she just started laughing at me. She reminded me of the vow I had just uttered to stay clear of the opposite sex, and here I was noticing one already. LOL.
So he comes over and asks me to dance, and while we were dancing, I swear I knew at that moment that there was something special about this guy. We talked a bit, and then we separated after I promised him another dance later. But, then he disappeared from the bar! I was disappointed, but thought... whatever.
About a half hour later, a guy I knew asked me to dance, and he had been drinking way too much. I wasn't in the mood to deal with him, so I turned him down. He started getting angry with me, and after a rather ugly exchange, he threw a cup of beer on me!! I couldn't believe it. But then out of no where comes Mr. FtK rushing to defend me. Before anything actually happened, a bouncer jumped over the bar and escorted my drunk acquaintance out of the establishment.
Mr. FtK had left with a friend to go to a bar next door, but was planning on coming back, and he happened to return at the perfect moment. At that point, Mr. FtK and I exchanged phone numbers, and I went home due to the fact that my shirt was drenched with beer.
The rest is history...within about 3 months, Mr. FtK asked me to marry him. I remember praying for years for the perfect guy for me, and God finally plopped him down right in front of me when I quit trying so hard to find him.
I think what has made our marriage work is that our backgrounds are quite similar. That and the fact that we balance each other out. He's very laid back and confident, while I'm rather high strung and think and worry about things too much. He has a calming affect on me, and I throw in that needed dose of reality at times.
Our marriage isn't perfect, but I think it's darn close. We've gone through some pretty crazy stuff together and managed to survive, and this year is going to be another one of those trying years due to the decision to close his business and look for another line of work. I'll be praying that God guides him to a job he enjoys, and that it will also pay the bills.
Speaking of prayer, that is something Pastor mentioned today...husbands and wives praying together. Honestly, my husband and I have never done that. I've always been a very private person in regard to prayer, and I'm uncomfortable praying in public. I don't feel sincere when I'm praying in front of a group, and it makes me nervous to do so. So, I usually steer away from those situations. Hubby surprised me after the sermon...he brought up praying together, and said he'd never thought about that before. I'm kind of surprised he brought it up as he is less religiously motivated than I am in that kind of thing. Who knows...maybe we'll give it a go...
