"To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven." Ecclesiastes 3:1
It began in April. 1989.
seeds of friendship sprouting......pushing past the pleasantries and acquaintance level.....
talking.....
singing....
sharing....
walks along the river.....holding hands....dreaming....
talking....of visions, goals, ideas.....
digging deeper.........taking root.... growing....seeking God.....
blooming into love.....
August 1989
engagement........covenant of friendship and partnership before Christ.....
June 1990
married for life.....friends for eternity....standing before God, family, friends, the body of Christ......
June 1990
married for life.....friends for eternity....standing before God, family, friends, the body of Christ......
A New Season.......
New beginnings.
Hopefulness.
New life.
The emotions are.......
Excitement
Joy
Hope
The attitudes are.....
Optimism
Trust
Anticipation
Gratitude
Love....
The actions are.....
Nurturing
Planning
Seeking help as needed
Communicating....
The climate of the relationship:
Vital,
Tender,
Open,
Caring.
Streams of communication are flowing.
Sense of excitement about life together.
Couples are making plans.
Great hopes for the future.
Planting seeds from which they hope to reap a harvest of
Vital,
Tender,
Open,
Caring.
Streams of communication are flowing.
Sense of excitement about life together.
Couples are making plans.
Great hopes for the future.
Planting seeds from which they hope to reap a harvest of
happiness.
Spring
a season of marriage
from the website "Living Hope International Ministries and the 4 Seasons of Marriage by Gary Chapman
Here is a summary of what I read from the Chapman information:
THE ESSENTIAL NATURE OF MARRIAGE
- Committed
- United
- Intimate
- Purposeful
- Complementary
"The DOWNSIDE of Spring: Unexpected and unannounced "irritations" ruin a perfect vacation or turn a fine dinner into an emotional fiasco. These irritations do not change the season, but they make springtime less enjoyable. Share your irritations with your spouse, and be open to change. Nurture positive changes, and you will enjoy the fun of summer. When we Fail to follow through with new beginnings, we may skip summer and slip right into fall or winter."
There are 7 strategies for enhancing your marriage according to Chapman.......
(Come on back for a future Marriage Monday to find out what those 7 strategies entail!)
DO you remember the season of "spring" in your marriage? those first 2-3 years before babies were born, and mortgages began..the days of dating, engagement, honeymoon phase??
Dave and I are rather past the "Spring" season of our marriage...however...we are also entering a new beginning as a couple of a soon-to-be college daughter. We will say "See you later" to our oldest child on August 20th......and this is going to be something new for us......I think we will need to be emotionally connected like we were in our early years to get through that developmental milestone!
We will be married 21 years come June......sometimes we have been in the "fall season"...thankfully we have never been in the "winter" season of marriage......and I do believe it is because of the grace and mercy of God and our determination to make our marriage work.
We are probably somewhere between full-fledged summer and maybe early fall in some areas of our marriage...but...we often view things from a "spring" perspective so I think that keeps us fairly balanced and just short of entering the fall season fully......although in the past we have definitely had a season of time that was "fall". And it wasn't fun.
THINK SPRING! I find that it really does help to go back to those days of "new beginnings" and remember just WHY I married my husband.....the man of God and the man my Father God chose for me.
What season are you in??
(Come on back for a future Marriage Monday to find out what those 7 strategies entail!)
DO you remember the season of "spring" in your marriage? those first 2-3 years before babies were born, and mortgages began..the days of dating, engagement, honeymoon phase??
Dave and I are rather past the "Spring" season of our marriage...however...we are also entering a new beginning as a couple of a soon-to-be college daughter. We will say "See you later" to our oldest child on August 20th......and this is going to be something new for us......I think we will need to be emotionally connected like we were in our early years to get through that developmental milestone!
We will be married 21 years come June......sometimes we have been in the "fall season"...thankfully we have never been in the "winter" season of marriage......and I do believe it is because of the grace and mercy of God and our determination to make our marriage work.
We are probably somewhere between full-fledged summer and maybe early fall in some areas of our marriage...but...we often view things from a "spring" perspective so I think that keeps us fairly balanced and just short of entering the fall season fully......although in the past we have definitely had a season of time that was "fall". And it wasn't fun.
THINK SPRING! I find that it really does help to go back to those days of "new beginnings" and remember just WHY I married my husband.....the man of God and the man my Father God chose for me.
What season are you in??
8 comments:
Our spring was around the same time as yours... we were married in February of 1990. I'm a little step ahead of you since our eldest is in her 2nd year of university and the 2nd born is looking to head off in September too. Unfortunately, we did have our winter.. not so very long ago, but I'm happy to say, spring was worth every bit of what winter brought and I look forward to golden summer because I now have the marriage I should have had all along. Thank you for this beautifully written piece.
Love & Blessings
What I mean to say... is that we had the opportunity for a new springtime.. it was actually better than the original in my opinion.
I really enjoyed how you set this blog up today! Thanks for the encouragement to THING SPRING in my marriage! Smiles and love to you!
Beautiful post. Thanks for sharing.
Not the first post I have read today comparing marriage with seasons, love the connections! I compared it to an oasis and the dry seasons as a desert but I see a connection there too. We are speaking a similar language me thinks, like LOVE:)
It is important to remember the early days, those qualities we were so attracted to. Memories can sustain us in the hard seasons.
Loved this Faith!!!
Congratulations on your twenty (plus) years of marriage.
Yes, I do think we cycle through the various seasons in our marriages. For us, empty nesting was very fallish (but not winter), and now we're back to spring again. We feel like newlyweds with new dreams and plans ahead! (It's amazing what you can think of when children are not a factor.)
I hear the joy in your voice as your write about your early days together. You two are something else! So happy you're happily married. It warms my heart.
Thanks for joining us today. I know you have a very full schedule, so I appreciate your participation all the more!
((Hugs)) e-Mom ღ
Thank you so much for that post Faith! I can't help but be reminded about some of my favorite books....Dr. Gary Chapman's "The Four Seasons of Marriage" and then the 4 fiction books of his that are based on the prior book. What great reads....and I think I want to re-read them...thank you for reminding me of them with this eloquently written post!
Blessings to you,
Jen
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