Monday, January 7, 2013

Day 1 - Be a Constant Friend and Companion


It is when we are doing things together that friendship springs up –
painting, sailing ships, praying, philosophizing,
and fighting shoulder to shoulder.
Friends look in the same direction.
- C.S. Lewis

As we embark on this journey of 21 days, I'd love to go back to the place where it began for each one of us. The days before "we" when it was just "you and he." Back to the foundation of friendship where a seed of romance was planted and watered until it took root.

Remember those days?

What was it like to be new-found friends? How was life different?

Michael and I were friends for several months before we dated. Not your regular run of the mill friendship, where we met for coffee every other week--no, like most young couples, we were inseparable buddies. We spent hours on end talking on the phone about the music we enjoyed, the movies that made us cry, friends from the past... and more than anything else--we laughed.

We went for picnics, attended church, and spent time at the park. Taking long walks I'd feel the brush of his hand against mine wondering when and if they'd ever connect.

Like any new and exciting friendship I was sincerely interested in knowing what he was about, so I asked questions and listened intently to every word that he spoke and every story he told. There was no doubt in my mind that this man was my very best friend. We made every effort to spend time together.

Fast forward about 15 years... Michael and I were struggling with the day to day details of starting a new business. We were dealing with the loss of five babies to miscarriage, and had started raising a family. Michael was working long hours and I was busy at home taking care of the babies.

Unfortunately, like many couples who are busy being Mom and Dad, our friendship was swept to the side for a time. Thankfully we've made an effort to pull friendship back to the forefront of our relationship.

If you're wondering what that looks like, it's a matter of carving out time to spend in each other's company, and enjoying the time that you have.

Alone time? That's good, but not always practical when you have a house full of kids. Spending time with your husband might be putting a puzzle together on the kitchen table, watching a Lord of the Rings Marathon (which I recently did), or enjoying a picnic with your kids at the park.

As much as I want to suggest "date nights" to you, I'm going to veer in a slightly different direction today by sharing two romantic little nuggets with you:

My parents were married for 60 years, and I don't ever remember them going out on a "date." It just wasn't their thing. They had a big family and they were careful about the way that they spent their money.

But here's what I did notice about them... aside from watching TV and gardening together, they spent time laughing together. Looking back at it now, the one thing that I loved most about spending time at the cabin was the fact that the walls were thin and I could hear my parents chatting and laughing in bed. They would giggle and talk for a good half hour before falling asleep.

Then this afternoon I had lunch with a couple that's been happily married for over 30 years. Do you want to know how they spend their evenings together? He reads classic novels to her while she works in the kitchen.

I asked, "How many has he read to you? She said, "Hmm... let me think... how long have we been married?" (My heart just about melted when I heard that one!) 

Date nights don't get much better than that, do they?

The bottom line is that friends don't only enjoy each others company, they make an effort to do so.

"Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth." ~ Proverbs 5:18
Today's Vow:
My husband, my treasure, from this day forward I take thee to be my constant friend and companion.

The Challenge:
Carve out time in your day to enjoy moments of friendship.

You are loved by an almighty God,



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23 comments:

  1. I love the simplicity of the vow for today. I love reading about how couples maintain a wonderful friendship while living life together. That is one of the greatest blessings in being married to your best friend.

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  2. I really enjoyed this Darlene...thank you so much! We celebrate 23 years next month and I can take an honest step back and acknowledge that the friendship part of our life together disappeared entirely for a while there. We've spent the last 3 years trying to build a better marriage and the greatest thrill of my life was hearing my husband say recently "You're my best friend".

    Looking forward to the rest of this series very much...thanks again.

    God bless!

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  3. Thank you for your encouragement. I really like the simplicity of your suggestion for time together. It is really hard with kids and short budget to attempt some of the typical suggestions. But laugh together - talking - doable!

    My husband and I are rebuilding our marriage after some tough stuff. Doing more than these suggestions sometimes feels overwhelming. This year I will resolve to laugh more with my spouse.

    Blessings to you!

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  4. Thank you for your "nuggets." I don't know how many times I have felt guilt for not making date nights happen, even though we have two boys under two, and I strictly nurse. Doesn't make it easy to "get away." So many people suggest you are not putting your marriage first if you do not have date nights where you leave your kids, but I have come to realize that my husband and I are happy just the way we are (thank God). We might have to work at making our time more special during naps and after the boys go to bed, but you are completely right that it is our friendship that holds us together. :)
    Saretta

    onepassionatewifeandmommie@blogspot.com

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  5. Awwww this is so lovely I have been thinking of what to do this year differently as we now have a child. Staying friends n just laughing together is key. I think we will start taking short walks as well together. www.secretlilies.blogspot.com

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  6. Thank you so very much for posting this. Last night my husband told me he thought or friendship was drifting apart. We've been married for only almost 4 years {four years in March} and have two beautiful daughters so I was thinking alot about what I should do and you really helped thank you.

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  7. I love this. At first glance I thought it a bit lengthy but after reading it, I thought how awesome! It's an easy read, very simple, a great idea and awesome motivation. I'm staying posted! Thanks so much! http://trustinggod4everything.blogspot.com/

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  8. What a wonderful insight!!!

    "Date Night" to me means time spent with each other, ON PURPOSE, and that can be done no matter who you are with - kids, extended family, other couples, or just the two of you - but the important thing is to make sure that you are paying attention to one another.

    I like to look at it as "making memories." Will the memory be of a bunch of people having a good time together or you and your spouse having a good time with others?

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  9. I'm so glad you mentioned about your parents. This whole date thing is a modern day phenomenon, that I've been struggling a lot with it lately. I have a large family and very rarely do my husband and I get to go out. I think it puts undo pressure on a couple to tell them they have to "go out on a date." I greatly admire the ministries that talk about it, but I don't think it is right to tell a couple that without it your marriage will not thrive.
    Right now my husband is in tax season mode which means major overtime. He leaves at 7:30 am. and does not return till after 10pm. He also will be working every weekend in Jan. and Feb. possibly March. So I will maybe get an 1hr with him at night when he gets home. Last night however, he called from work and said they were letting him out at 7pm and wanted me to be ready when he got home to go out on a date. Of course I was ecstatic, I had actually prayed about it that afternoon. He told me he wanted to take this chance because he didn't know if we would get another opportunity till after April 15th.
    All that to say Thank you to your parents for a Godly example.
    Venera Beebe

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  10. What a neat way to spend the beginning of a new year - focusing on renewing all that makes our marriage special...and making it better. (http://journeytojoyful.wordpress.com/2013/01/07/a-vow-of-friendship)

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  11. Thank you, I am very glad with this blog.

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  12. I love the thoughts and stories you all add in the comments. It makes the blog so much more when it's all of our voices sharing together. So thank you!!!

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  13. Thank you so much for this. I have decided to start a journal to my husband based on this. I wrote him a letter telling him that I love him more than ever (10 years together, married for 8) and that although life has changed (3 kids, work, homemaking, family, finances) my love for him is constant. I will be writing him a new entry each day, and sharing with him the vow each day. I will leave it on his pillow each night for him to read as he goes to sleep. I cannot wait to see how God moves over the next three weeks.

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    1. Thats a really lovely idea. Thanks for sharing

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  14. I love it! :) My hubby makes me laugh all the time, we have 2 small kiddos, so we have to make an extra effort not to push our relationship to the side, just like you are talking about. It is SO worth it when we do though! thanks for the extra encouragment <3

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  15. So thankful for your wonderful, practical and biblical encouragement. Blessings to you!

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  16. Thank you so much for today's insight! I really look forward to the next 20 days!

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  17. <3 it--and so true. We have 4 kids, twins that are 10, a 7 year old and a 1 year old. 2 of them have Autism/ADHD/etc. We can't have date nights. We have to be creative. I love the way this gives us an "out" in that tradition, but a way to be "in" with eachother. Time to get creative!

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  18. Thank you Darlene! I love the idea of date nights and friendship thriving in marriage! What an awesome encouragement. I have prayed about this in my marriage just this morning!

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  19. Love it Darlene!!! We try to watch a movie together or play a game. We like Risk. :) We do date days occasionally and it's nice!

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  20. God bless you Darlene! My husband and I have recently found our marriage strained and under immense pressure from life in general. Thank u thank u thank u. This is the first powerful step to renewing the awesome,'magical', can't-go-a-minute-without-speaking-to-u-or-thinking-of-u-friendship that our love story began with!

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  21. It's hard for me to read this today because my husband isn't being such a friend right now. Do you have suggestions to survive intense hurt and still retain that friendship in the end?

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  22. I have been married to my best friend for almost 24 years. Things have not always been easy because of many reasons, but we have four great kids! Our best date ever was last year when we told the children (ages 21, 18, 15, & 12) that they would have to spend the night at a friend's house so we could have a home date. We went grocery shopping then cooked dinner together and ate in front of the fireplace. Highly recommend this date!

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