Why I cried over tile and grout…

I cried. I cried over grout and bathroom tile. Our little family of three pushed a shopping cart out of Home Depot, and I wiped the stream of tears pouring down my face over and over. To some, that might sound silly. To me, it was a release of excitement and sheer gratitude.

This is my birthday present from my husband this year! We are putting in new tile floors in our guest bathroom. I know, I know… “What a gift?!??”… But really, what an amazing gift!

Ive mentioned before that fixer uppers are my dream. Hence, why I secretly wish Chip and Joanna Gaines would adopt me as a long lost sibling. From the moment we first looked at this house as an option for our first family home, my mind started twisting and turning with ideas. After growing up in a fixer upper, I wanted somewhere I could imbed my personality into, while holding onto the charm that exists in older homes. Its a feeling of accomplishment to take something  and restore it, beautify it, and still embody its previous character. This project is a large step in doing just that to the house we love SO much already!

So why the tears??? Because my husband 100% spoke my love language with his gift. He has listened to my dreams of a fabulous new bathroom. He’s made a sacrifice not only financially, but also of his time and with his labor. This bathroom will be our little “labor of love” together… Well with my parents, too, because we have no clue how to replace tile. But… We are about to learn! 😳💪🏽

As we left the store with our supplies, I was reassured that God knew what He was doing when He gave me Sam. And I also know God has been intervening in our marriage in the past 18 months. I know this, because most men wouldn’t give their wife a gift that requires manual labor to reap the result. But Sam knows my heart and my passions. He knows what it means to me to complete projects together. He knows God speaks to me through restoration (home, furniture, etc). He knows that I will enjoy every second of tearing up that hideous tile, and laying the beautiful gray squares we diligently picked out as a team.

It was one of those moments in your marriage when you think, “He just GETS me… every weird part of me.” He doesn’t miss a beat when I leave coffee cups in my car or procrastinate cleaning it out. He just reminds me, and washes them out himself. He doesn’t question when I bring home odd antiques or need to go for a run to cleanse my soul. He embraces and encourages my love for writing. He just laughs in the morning when my hair looks like an animal made its bed on my scalp. He hugs me and prays over me when I feel like the worst parent on the planet. He hurts when I hurt and forgives me when I’ve been a jerk to him.

Will his love ever be as perfected as the love Jesus bestows upon us? No. But he certainly tries to love me like that. He’s honest. He doesn’t disregard me because of previous mistakes. He prays for me and with me. He accepts me for the good, the crappy, and the downright crazy! We love, we fight, we forgive, and we grow.

“Above all things, have intense and unfailing love for one another. For love covers a multitude of sins.” -1 Peter 4:8

I cried because it was a reminder that marriage isn’t about having the perfect person or perfect relationship. It’s about loving the other person through all of their imperfections. I cried because in that moment, I felt God saying: “See, I’ve got this,” for every moment I doubted finding the right one. I cried because we’ve been through a lot as a couple. But, God prevails. He shows us just how much we love each other and can overcome anything when we put Him first.

While I’m grateful to have new tile floors, I’m even more grateful for Gods daily intervention in our relationship. I’m thankful for a husband who encourages and provokes my passions and seeks to love me like Christ.

Whether you’re married, single, divorced, or something in between, I want to pray for you today. My marriage isn’t perfect. But, it has slowly become more Christ-centered because of prayers from others and our own cries for God to take over our relationship.

God, I pray for my own marriage, and for the marriage of others. I pray you intercede daily. I ask that  you teach us forgiveness, patience, and sincerity. I hope for a refreshed sense of love and adventure each morning and a magnitude of gratefulness with the close of each day. I pray you help spouses to seek YOU first, and pursue each other second. I pray homes, including our own, are filled with prayer and a hunger for a marriage that resembles Your love for us. I ask for healing for those with broken hearts. I know you will provide restoration of their beliefs in a marriage worth fighting or waiting for. Thank you for the gift of marriage and for loving us enough to send someone who can give us earthly love. We are humbled by what You can do in our lives. God help those of us currently married to reflect for those waiting, belief that the relationship between two married people is certainly worth the imperfections. I pray that we all seek Your love so fiercely, that our lives attract a marriage with someone who seeks you with that same intensity. Thank you for your many blessings. Oh, and thank you for new tile floors! In the words of our little boy: “May-Men.”