love is a battlefield

The babysitter arrived at 6:30.

Boy 1 turned green suddenly. He felt horrible. Maybe we should stay home. Our romantic night was dissolving. A glass of juice, a cozy spot and a good dose of Spiderman suddenly produced the cure he needed.

Things were looking up for Mr. Fantastic and me until the Apple TV wouldn’t work. Sixteen frustrating attempts to log in to Netflix failed.

Our house was beginning to feel like some sort of cage.

It was a full hour after the babysitter walked in that we ran out. We drove straight to the restaurant like our very lives depended on it. In all honestly, it is our marriage and our souls that depend on these moments together.

Love comes easily when life is peaceful. We must fight the battle for love when our life becomes a war zone of complicated jobs, difficult relationships, and not enough sleep.

Sometimes I think back to the early golden days of our love. Friendship turned into love seemingly overnight. Awed by each other’s fabulousness, we floated through the first year of marriage on a romantic high.

You can’t float forever, though. Life will weigh you down. Children and ministry are heavy. Deep in my heart I fight to remember the miracle of love in our lives, and I rise again.

We love because God first loved us. His love makes our love nothing short of miraculous. Two flawed and very human people, who will sacrifice so the other benefits. The gospel is in our hearts, arming us for battle.

It took an hour to get out of the house last night. The fight was completely worth it. We won that battle, and by God’s empowering grace we will win the war. We will win it for each other, for the eight little eyes watching and learning love from us, and for all the people around us who need to know that love really can save the day- even in this modern world we live in.

I love you, Morgan.