A familiar raspy voice
My mobile phone rang this morning as her gentle raspy voice came through, "Good morning honey." I knew it was my wife but she didn't sound as familiar.
It was 8 am and she sounded like she had just woken up, then she said, "We slept at 5:30 this morning, I just woke up to tell you that Jinggoy texted me." Jinggoy is her brother-in-law who is in town from Toronto to visit his ailing brother. She was reminding me that I was supposed to pray for him.
I replied, I've been exchanging text messages with him already, we're meeting each other at 11. She was surprised and she was grateful. After 30 years I finally know what makes her happy. I'm sure she was surprised with the flowers I randomly brought home two weeks ago but what really thrills her is when I take the time for the people she cares about.
Marie slept out last night with her friends. They had a sleepover cum renunion of sorts. One of them was visiting from overseas. Often when you've been married as long as we have phone calls can become transactional, "what time are you coming home? Did you get my jacket dry cleaned, I'll need it for my trip. How are the boys?" etc.
Today it was different. Can't really explain why, maybe it was just the set of circumstances. I've been gone 5 days and now she's out of the house and I'm alone. Her raspy voice became familiar when I was reminded of the many phone calls I've had with her when she was just my girlfriend. We'd talk till morning and then call again a few hours later just to check on each other. And this was in the days of clunky phones that were wired to a wall.
I'm not really sure what the difference was this morning, but it was sweet, refreshing and nice to connect with my girlfriend. I was reminded of how the Bible rarely calls our relationship with God as a husband and wife relationship but as a bride and groom. I guess it's God's way of reminding us that sometimes husband and wife relationships become stale and transactional while a bride and groom's is always fresh, new and delightful.
"I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels." Isaiah 61:10
Lord, I pray that my relationship with Marie stays fresh and delightful. May my relationship with You also stay that way. Do you have ideas how to keep a relationship fresh? Send in your comments, I'd like to learn.
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