I just read Ree’s blog the pioneer woman about her man. It made me think of my man, Keith.
September 2007 until August 2008 we had a tough year. Our marriage was stretched, our own personal growth was pushed to new limits. We have been married 27 years and this definitely was a year of great struggle but great REWARD. We were determined not to give up on working through the problem, it hurt like hell. We learned that loving someone like they were did not mean leaving them there. We fought hard to come out better individuals who made better partners. At times my heart hurt, ached, and screamed in pain. I cried out to God and many times did not feel His presence, but I knew His silence did not mean He was not there.
This was an old problem that just never seemed to go away. Determined this time to get to the root our struggle effected every area of our life. We were distressed, depressed, angry, short tempered, defensive and humbled by all these ugly emotions that were coming out. We both felt rejected and dejected. The cool part is that we NEVER EVER GAVE UP on each other. We were going to duke it out to the death or the victory and we knew there was VICTORY if we kept on working.
In August both our hearts began to soften, we both were willing to accept responsibility for our part, we were willing to keep trying and keep loving. It was exciting to start to see sun light, to start to feel hope and hear loving words.
September we went away and that was the beginning of me feeling joy again. I started to feel light hearted, believing the future looked brighter.
Keith is AMAZING. He is determined to be all that God wants him to be. It is very hard for him when I am not happy, he feels it is a reflection on him as a husband. This area has been a tough one for him, he has had to dig deep and stretch himself to a new level of personal growth. He has been humble and hard working. He just keeps coming back and working harder.
October and November has been my dream month. Keith found what made my heart sing. He has won a personal victory and it has created peace and harmony in our home again. The road will have bumps along the way but we are a team and are sticking together.
When he found out about the anemia last week he has been PERFECT. He has gone to 3 of the 5 doctors with me, he was with me in the hospital, he has bought dinner (he doesn’t cook, :O) he has cleaned and helped me in every way. I feel so LOVED and CHERISHED by him.