Love Never Fails Because It Never Stops Trying To Succeed

I have a friend at work who was sharing with some of us about her grandfather's health issues.  He has Alzheimer's Disease and it is pretty advanced.  Her grandmother just passed away and he cannot quite grasp that she is gone.  Everyday he is very confused and they have to keep reminding him that she passed.  It's sad and beautiful at the same time....part of him remembers her so much he asks about her all through the day, but another part can't retain new knowledge of what has happened to her.

Brad and I married on Groundhog Day in 2002....02/02/02....though I often joke about picking that date for him, it helps BOTH of us remember our anniversary.  There have been several romantic comedies that play around with the concept of starting over everyday... Groundhog Day and 50 First Dates are two that I can think of.... They are funny love stories, but I treasure the concept of a person being committed to KEEP TRYING, to keep learning, to keep making life better and making each day a fresh start.  I am so blessed to have a husband who is committed to taking one day at a time with me....forever.  Because our anniversary is approaching, I am thinking of these goals in terms of my marriage and learning a few things from it as I evaluate myself, but it applies to our spiritual lives as well.

One of the most awe inspiring things to me about our God is that His mercies are new every morning.  We aren't always that loving in our marriages...well, I shouldn't speak for anyone else....I am not always that loving or gracious and tend to carry frustrations longer than one day...but, I definitely think we all are given God's example of new mercies every morning to learn and apply to our marriages and beyond.  Ephesians 4:26 talks about not letting the sun go down while we are still angry....I think that would equate to a morning that is fresh and new with no ANGRY OR THREATENING CLOUDS left over from the previous days.  I am glad GOD's gift of mercy does not require us to be stuck on repeat, reliving each day over and over again until we get it right, but it allows us grace to continue forward repeating a lesson or two....maybe three, four, five....plus times under different circumstances...to build upon what we have learned over time.  I loved my wedding day, but I still think it would become really frustrating if that was the only day I was allowed to live....every day! (though it would be fun every now and again...how many times is that exactly?...ha!!)

Someone once challenged me to have a testimony no more than 7 days old and I think about that a lot.  It's awesome to have our conversion story...just like it's so fun to tell people how Brad and I met....when someone asks me about that, I just start smiling.  We should keep telling that...but, I can't let the exhilarating moments of realizing I was in love and hoping and praying for Brad to realize the same thing feed the rest of my marriage....it would starve on that.  I also have to nourish an active life in the Spirit and through God's Word.  It does take work to be in a committed and healthy relationship and there is NOTHING wrong with that....there is EVERYTHING RIGHT in that....there is every part of the 1 Corinthians "LOVE" chapter in that effort.  Every day we have been given an opportunity to improve upon the day before.  I saw this sign and thought it was so appropriate for the days in February leading up to Valentine's Day....AND 14, imagine that!....so, thought I'd share it.