a very happy 4 months

     I cannot believe that as of May 31, I've been married to my best friend for four months. Time flies when you're having fun I guess. I have experienced so much in these past four months, and I just wanted to take a minute to write about it!

     Growing up, I always dreamed of the season that I would become a wife. Being a newlywed and being a wife, loving on my husband and having fun dates and just living the very best life in that season. I thought about it so much - I almost fantasized the idea a little too much. I got caught up in how beautiful and perfect that it would be and I didn't even think about the reality of what marriage is. I mean, I was in elementary school so it wasn't a top priority. And when you get older, you learn about the realities of life and it's not all sunshine and happiness all the time. I understand that now. But I have to say, being married to Elijah is pretty darn close to sunshine and happiness all the time. Marriage is tough and it takes a lot of work from both sides, I know that, but boy, it is so so beautiful. Marriage can be full of heartache and arguments, or it can be filled with joy and laughter, and I have been so blessed to have the latter. I find myself overwhelmed (several times a week since our wedding day) with how great the Lord blessed me in the husband department. I find myself in tears, just thanking Him for Elijah. My heart is overflowing with love for the Lord because He gave me a man that loves me so well, and knows how to take care of me before I know how to take care of myself. Like WOW GOD, thank you so much for this earthly blessing.

     It kinda sounds horrible, but one of my favorite parts of these past few months of marriage is COVID-19. I know, I know, but let me explain. Two months into marriage, this coronavirus showed up. It was so annoying cuz all of our favorite restaurants and favorite places to go were closing down and we were stuck inside. But then it required us to be creative. Having picnics in the backyard and cooking meals together and having dates indoors and spending so much more time with just us (cuz social distancing). That entire experience was already a blessing. But God went above and beyond like He always does, and took away Elijah's job. That entire sentence sounds contradictory, but hear me out. You see, prior to getting married, finances were a concern (like they often are before you get married), but with the jobs that we had, it sounded kinda hard to make a living and it was a little scary. So then fast forward to 2 months later, and because of coronavirus, Elijah was let go from his job. It was a very humbling experience for him and for me, but while I was scared of lack of money 2 months ago, God took away that fear and gave me peace instead. Never once while he was unemployed, did I stress about money. Never once did I have this fear that we weren't going to be okay. I just knew that God was going to take care of us, because He promises that He will. (Matthew 6:30-32).

     Another super cool thing about marriage is that it's a two-person thing. It sounds silly to say cuz of course it's a two person thing. But people often forget about that until they're either entering a marriage or they've been in a marriage for so long that that idea has been lost. Marriage takes two. You can't make all the decisions on your own, but neither should you cuz that's a lot on one person's plate. It's not the sole responsibility of the wife to do all the cleaning and cooking and the husband is solely responsible for bringing home the paycheck. To be perfectly honest, I'm pretty sure Elijah does more cleaning than I do (he's kinda a neat freak and I'm spilling food on my shirt at every meal so I'm obviously not). And when Elijah didn't have a job, I was blessed to have my job still and I was able to bring in the income for the both of us until he got his job back. It's a balance of work from both partners - that's how marriage works. We talk about decisions to make and come up with a solution or an idea together. I think that both Elijah and myself knew that before getting married, but it's one of those things that 'you don't really understand it until you're in it' type of things. It's actually been really cool seeing how well we work together, in spite of how different we are. I guess when they say that opposites attract, they're not kidding!

     Another important thing to note is that while we're in this marriage together, we're not in it alone. God is the head of our home, and our decisions are brought before Him. We ask the Lord for direction in all aspects of our lives, as individuals and as a couple. Also, I trust Elijah as he trusts the Lord in everything. He is the stronger vessel in our relationship and I trust his guidance as my husband. (Ephesians 5:23)

     It's super easy when you first enter a season of life, to get really excited and enjoy it for a few weeks or a month, and then start thinking of the next season of life. For example, as soon as you get married, you start thinking about when you're going to have kids. And while those types of things are normal to think about, thinking about them often pulls you away from the season of life that you're currently in. Elijah and I have both learned about just resting in the Lord's presence. Not worrying about future kids and paying for their high school hobbies, or not worrying about the careers that the Lord will give us in His perfect time. Because the more you worry about the future, the less you can enjoy the present. And the present is a gift! So instead of stressing about things that could or should happen a few years from now or even a few days from now, we're trying to enjoy the moments that the Lord has given us together now. We really dwelled on that during the first portion of this COVID lockdown. Spending every minute together and just soaking it in because we will probably never get an experience like that ever again. We probably stay up too late at night sometimes, just talking and laughing together about silly things, but it's some of my favorite moments right now and I want to enjoy them while I have them. Cuz things can change and seasons shift and things aren't always the same forever. So we have to enjoy the now. Elijah and I are really enjoying our now time. (which means we don't plan on having kids anytime soon - sorry not sorry). 

     We're enjoying so much what the Lord has blessed us with in our marriage and our new lives together. It's more fruitful than we ever imagined it would be. Thank you so much to those who have been praying for our marriage and those who have supported us through it. To those who still have concerns about our marriage - this blog is evidence that we're doing great and there's no need to stress and no need to tell us. Please take it to the Lord and continue to pray.

Always,

Becca