14 years! wow

I'm quite at awe that it is already 14 years since we've been married. Labour Day Weekend always takes me by surprise and I'm always ill prepared for all that awaits me in September; starting schooling, our anniversary, and yes also my darling hubby's birthday. This year was no exception. Not only was I kept physically busy with prepping the house for the market but I was also mindful daily of my friends online and their various struggles/challenges. This resulted in the weekend hitting me like a 2x4 thrown to me sideways and hitting me on the head. (I guess my kids get the dramatic streak from me! LOL)

It is very hard being so far, hurting for them and being unable to do any physically significant help of any sort. Knowing the only thing I can do is to pray just seemed like a cop out even though I knew it is the very best thing to do. I know this from experience, yet my flesh heaps on the "you're no help" in my head and is SO loud. So I've been gloomily coexisting with this feeling while being kept busy. Then I was reading from my beloved George MacDonald book, trying somewhat to distract that loud taunting, and here's what I read:

I left the house in a gloomy mood. I know I ought to have looked up to God and said, "These things do not reach to Thee, my Father. Thou art ever the same. I rise above my small as well as my great troubles by remembering Thy peace, and Thy unchangeable godhood to me and all Thy creatures." But I did not come to my self all at once. The thought of God had not come, though it was sure to come.

I was taken aback. The character was mirroring exactly how I was feeling! All of the misery that happen on this Earth doesn't alter who He is, and He is big enough to take care of all of us individually and give us the best for each at the best time. It is the deception of the flesh to make us thing we're so powerless. That is only half truth; if we remain on our own, we are just that, BUT if we acknowledge that and also acknowledge the One who is Almighty then together we are so powerful. Hallelujah!

So like what Reepicheep said "Come further up and further in!" Whether it is the prayer journey or my marriage, that is what I keep hearing these days.

On a different note, I thought in honor of my online friend Perri, I'll do the fun questionnaire she put up on her blog. I figured out that we got married the same year and I was so happy.

1. Who is your man? Mr.Frank, honey, AKA Chin Spinach
2. How long have you been together? Married 14 years.
3. How long did you date before you got married? 4 months 'til engagement, married within a year.
4. How old is your man? He turned 43 a few days ago.
5. Who eats more? He does, though not nearly as much as he used to.
6. Who said "I love you" first? It is still a mystery to this day who was the first.
7. Who is taller? He is. He is almost 6" and I'm only 5"3'
8. Who sings better? I do. He's a drummer.
9. Who is smarter? He's more logical, creative and methodical. I'm creative, relational and social.
10. Whose temper is worse? Definitely mine. I'm the rhino. He's the hedgehog.
11. Who does the laundry? We both do. Mostly me, but he pitches in whenever the need is obvious without asking. (and I do appreciate it!)
12. Who takes out the garbage? He does.
13. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? If you're lying down, he does. If you're looking at the bed standing, I do.
14. Who pays the bills? He does.
15. Who is better with the computer? He is. There I admit it. My computer knowledge is getting fossilized by the day.
16. Who mows the lawn? He does. The few times I attempted, I couldn't get the thing started with my short arms and lack of strength. Hate that pull thing.
17. Who cooks dinner? Mostly I do, but he loves to cook. His pizzas are famous around friends.
18. Who drives when you are together? He does unless it is a long trip and he needs rest.
19. Who pays when you go out? He does.
20. Who is the most stubborn? Me
21. Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? Well, most arguments usually winds up me being wrong, so I guess the quick answer would be me. But in the rare occasion that he is wrong, he does admit it very quietly.
22. Whose parents do you see most? My mom gets to see us more by osmosis because she lives closer and we eat weekly together. We do see his mom at least once a month.
23. Who kissed who first? This is another point of contention, but really I blame it on the fact that both of us had prayed that God would not let us blunder into a relationship because each didn't want to be the initiator. So I'm fine with that. I just know that the first kiss was very sweet ;o)
24. Who asked who out? See #23
25. Who proposed? He did. On a beach after we were greeted by a naked man and figured out that it was a nudist beach.
26. Who is most sensitive? He is - though I sometimes forget because he could be so dense.
27. Who has the most friends? Me - no contest.
28. Who has more siblings? He does. He's the oldest of 5.
29. Who wears the pants in the family? He's the head whether people can see it or not. I'm just loud, but what he says goes. He's just very flexible.
30. How did you meet? At an university Christian club retreat.