Let God, and Let God

"One of the secrets to a happy marriage is remembering the source of our joy, which is not one another. The source of our joy is the Lord. Yes, we share tons of joyous moments, but we don't expect, let alone demand, endless joy-filled moments from each other. "
~ Liz Curtis Higgs ~
from the devotional: Rise and Shine

When I came accross this quote by Liz Curtis Higgs, the Lite Brite went on in my brain, in full color. "So that's what's going on..." I finally told myself after wondering what the "it" factor was that made marriage better today then it had been in the past.

Before we got married we made a promise to each other, which essentially kept us awake for the first ten years of marriage. That promise was that we agreed that we'd never go to bed angry.

Two people with hot tempers at four in the morning aren't the best mix of company, but instead of letting go of our anger we were resolved to resolve it that night.

Because I was the center of Mike's universe, I also assumed that I was the center of his frustration, his anger, and his stress. So, I'd lay awake in a state of silent treatment, hoping my irregular breathing might cause him to think I was crying or having heart failure, after all, who could sleep when their queen was distressed? Obviously he could, because every once in a while I'd hear a snore or two break through before I'd hop off the bed in a hissy fit.

"You're sleeping! You broke a big promise...!!" was my way of saying, I won.

Until his response one night taught me otherwise, "We're still fighting?" he asked, wiping the sleep from his eyes, "I let it go four hours ago." Those words revealed what I should have already known. Had I focussed on mercy instead of religion, I would have understood true sacrifice.

I've since learned a three-fold lesson which is this: let it go, get some sleep, and work it out in the morning at which time cooler heads will prevail. In doing so, I've had to understand the very lesson that Liz taught--my joy is in the Lord and Him alone.

When your joy is in the Lord, and your delight in His goodness, forgiveness comes easy as does your sleep even at 3 am.

The "it" factor we have is the growing ability to let go and let God. "Yes, we share tons of joyous moments, but we don't expect, let alone demand, endless joy-filled moments from each other." ~ Liz Curtis Higgs

There's a verse that's been big on my mind this week, and as I travel the blogosphere I see that many of us are trying to grasp the same thing--letting go of our worries and grabbing hold of God who is mighty to conquer and comfort. God who is the unfailing source of our joy.

"Be careful (worried) for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." ~ Phillippians 4:6-7

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