Mike and I have been a little like two ships passing in the night the last couple weeks. He has a crazy busy work schedule, goes to school (which he is the tops at!) and is involved in some people loving kind of stuff. I have a husband who is crazy busy. So that makes me crazy too. Being busy is an any time characteristic of my life but being crazy only happens when Mike is over worked and over scheduled. We have had NO time to catch up on all the here’s and there’s of our lives and the people who occupy them. So I planned a weekend away to re-connect. I knew it would be great but I didn’t know how much we really needed it.
Saturday morning was a little rough. Mike had some work stuffs to do and the kids had some stuff they wanted to do and I had some stuff to sort out with Mike.We ended up in a fuss with one another. Sparing you all the specifics, our biggest issue was simply not spending enough (or ANY!) time together. There was really no one to blame; no one needed to change their attitude; there was nothing to apologize for. It was a simple case of no more gas in the tank.
As we got in the family car, Mike commented how long it had been since he had driven it and how nice it was to be together. There was an immediate sense of peace when we all were together. We had lunch together and registered Sierra for Cheer. It completely ‘fixed’ us. Spending time together healed the missing we had been experiencing and broke down any barrier we had as a result of not abiding with one another. We had been eating from the same fridge, getting ready in the same bathroom and sleeping in the same bed, but we had not been abiding with one another.
I think about my relationship with God when I experience some reality of relationship. My relationship with God is the defining relationship in my life. Whether or not I am living that way, it is the invisible glue holding the rest together. After my last couple weeks with Mike and the peace of mind I had when we were together, I was reminded that there is no getting around the necessity of time spent together. It is the key of relationship. Not a key, but the key. When you are not spending time together, I assure you, there is no growth and worse than that, there may be deterioration. Sure, there are ‘pick up where you left off’ kinds of friends. But those are rarely the deep, current relationships we all need. Relationships need current fuel. They need to be fortified and prioritized, today! Everyday! The primary relationship we have with God is not immune to us not spending time with him. If I have ever worried that I am purposeless; or felt overwhelmed by my circumstance; or frustrated by people around me; I can look back on my week and see that time with God has been lacking, my current hold on him is slight and I am insecure and uncertain. It is all about presence. We all know God’s hold on us does not waver and His presence in our lives is never in question. The challenge is: be faithful to Him. For He is faithful to us. Be a friend to Him. For He is a friend to us. We know He wants/knows the absolute best for us but even more, for some unfathomable reason, He wants to be connected to us; to be in relationship with us.
Thankfully, Mike and I have learned to operate composedly during seasons of busyness. But there is an affect. There is a sputtering after the last drop of fuel has been used. And so very very very often, the prescription is time together. We had an amazing weekend together. We talked our hearts out, we laughed, we snuggled, we hiked, we got a deep fill of one another. The peace and harmony that results in our marriage is sweet and full. I pray for that in our relationships with God. Spend time with Him. So many blessings and treasures and insights will follow.
