With Stephen’s back being out, I’ve been having to take on a lot more duties both in our business and around the house. I realize how much I had adapted to now having a partner, having that someone to split tasks with, having that someone to help do life with. He did dishes, I did laundry. He took the trash out, I kept things organized. But lately, as Stephen spends most of his days in bed rest, I’m starting to wonder how I ever handled it all on my own during my single years. It’s funny how I used to worry how I would adapt to having someone in “my” space, to sharing a life with someone 24/7, to make room in my life for a man who would come with man smells and noises. Now, as I do life back on my own while Stephen recovers, I realize I don’t want to do life on my own, I like having a partner to dance through life with.
And that’s just what we did.
It was Saturday night. We were supposed to be out with friends, but had to cancel because Stephen’s back was still bothering him. So instead, we stayed home and watched movies. I was curled up in my fluffy pink robe, he was curled up under his fluffy blanket. Each on our own couch, yet being in the same room was just as cozy. I left the room to grab the laptop so we could watch a Netflix movie, but when I returned, instead, I played a song. Our song. Our First Dance song. And I asked him for a dance. Despite his pain, despite his comfort under the fluffy blanket, he rose to the occasion. And just like that night when all our closest friends and family watched on, he grabbed me in his arms, this time with no one watching except our poodle Rhett. We didn’t move much because of his back, but to simply be in his arms was all I needed in that moment to regain strength. Then he got that smile on his face that I remember seeing on the dance floor during our First Dance, and he extended his arms to twirl me. My pink robe doesn’t do much of a twirl, but seeing that smile on his face as I twirled, I knew he thought I was just as beautiful dressed down as when I was dressed up as a bride.
The past few weeks while I take on the world for both of us, I’ve been simply… exhausted. But in the midst of my exhaustion, my friend emailed me a verse that really said exactly what I needed to hear: “Never tire of doing good.” ~2 Thessalonians 3:13 It was so simple, yet so profound. She was right, God was right. This was my husband who God gave me, who I vowed to take care in sickness and health, who needed me now more than ever. I have been tired, yes, but I needed to not grow tired of doing good for him. Of being his helpmate the way God designed wives to be for their husbands. As some country song says, “Life is a dance, you learn as you go, sometimes you lead, sometimes you follow.” And I know that’s exactly what marriage is, learning all the right steps together as you dance to the soundtrack of your lives becoming one together. And we’re definitely both still learning. But as tricky as some dances can be in certain moments of life, as long as we never get too busy to slow dance, I have a feeling we’ll do just fine.
As our slow dance ended, Stephen headed back to the couch and joked, “Ok, now go write a blog entry about that.” LOL, he knows me all too well, but I promise, that’s not why I asked him to dance. Really. I promise.
