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Home Repair

"The home is not the one tame place in a world of adventure; it is the one wild place in a world of rules and set tasks."

G. K. Chesterton
Years ago, I spoke with a co-worker who had just returned from a week-long honeymoon with her new husband.

“So, how’s married life?” I asked.

I felt dumb for not coming up with a more eloquent or meaningful question. At the time, Katy and I were still newlyweds ourselves. We worked opposite shifts, and felt completely tortured by the fact that we could not spend every minute together. (I know, cue the violins.)

But this is why the woman’s response was such a surprise.

“Same old crap.”

I can still hear the resignation and matter-of-fact tone in her voice. I remembered that she had been living with the guy for several years, and that the marriage was more of a convenience than an expression of their devotion.

This was hard to relate to as a young, happily married guy, and twenty-eight years later, seems just as strange. One thing Katy has never been is “same old.” Katy is a surprise, and almost always a pleasant one.

I’m not sure she can say the same about me, since I tend to settle into comfortable patterns and predictable responses. But this morning’s Easter sermon brought a challenge to let God bring things to life that have been dormant, or maybe didn’t exist at all. I can’t think of anything better I could give Katy this year.

Not that this undermines the importance of reinforcing, repeating, and remembering the things that God has done in our lives. I’m just thinking that reprise and surprise can work together very nicely.

The awakenings of Spring are familiar, habitual, and similar to the year before—and this is part of what we love about the season. But the feeling that everything is brand new is undeniable. And, in fact, things are brand new—each emerging leaf, flower, bud, and seedling had never existed until this moment in time.

After God created the world, the Bible says He rested; it doesn’t say He stopped. That’s encouraging for a guy who still has more than a few missing parts.

"If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new."
2 Corinthians 5:17


Read His, Read Hers
Read the Fallible take on this quote...

March 27, 2005 | Permalink

Comments

I'll say it again...Katy is one lucky lady to have you for a husband!

Posted by: Bridget on Mar 28, 2005 6:27:51 PM

Doug, besides being a great fan of Katy's and a wonderful husband (at least it sounds that way from reading the lines and between), you're eloquent as well. The two of you have a lot of communication potential!

Posted by: violet on Mar 30, 2005 8:55:06 PM

That's a neat thought. I like that. "After God created the world, He rested. He didn't stop." Did he keep creating more original stuff?

Posted by: Carla on Mar 17, 2006 8:19:33 AM


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