Making Peace...

We got into it today. Me and my Love. It was such a bummer for both of us. He was hurting and so was I. Both of us communicating the best we could amidst the little eyes and repeated questions of our sweet kids trying to figure out what the problem was.

I left, crying, to get to an appointment and he walked back in the house, heart hurting to attend to our fellas.

I hate it when that happens. Conflict is a fact of our lives, and it always hurts! We work hard to be honest, not interrupt each other, and never call each other names.

I made it to my appointment, gleaned some insight from an older and wiser friend, received some prayer and headed for home looking forward to making peace. When I arrived, he was not in the same mood.

We tip-toed around each other trying to be civil but not doing a great job of it. He headed off to run some errands and I completed a task he had asked me to do a couple of weeks ago that I put off, thinking it wasn't that big of a deal. It was.

I informed him before he left that I would be trying to find a last minute sitter so we could grab some dinner and work out our stuff on neutral ground where no one was likely to lose their temper. He said the equivalent of "fine".

So, sitter in place, boys contentedly enjoying their dinner and one of their favorite babysitters to chat with, we headed out. I could feel the peace once we settled into conversation about where to go for dinner and what birthday gift we were going to choose for our soon to be five year old. Appetizer ordered and drinks on the table, I plunged in.

I asked him if he was interested in hearing the wisdom I received concerning our situation. Knowing the trusted source of the wisdom, he agreed. I shared with him what was on my heart and the wisdom I had been given from my friend. He paused and agreed, that could be the issue. We talked a bit more about our afternoon's issue and again, peace reigned in the conversation.

It is amazing what a change of focus, location, and some time can do to bring two hurting people together, back into the connection we have enjoyed for over 19 years.

Our God joined us all day. He saw every angle, He heard our heart's cries before they were even uttered, and He knew only His peace would change our hurt into companionship. He loves us. He loves our marriage. He sees every flaw in both of us and He knows what it will take to draw us into deeper relationship with Him and each other.

Making peace is about choosing to love. Choosing to love when it is painful, inconvenient, and expensive is something God knows well. He has to teach us, one event, issue, and circumstance at a time. We can choose to love or not. We can choose to let Him make peace in us and for us. It starts with being willing. Are you willing? Today I was. He made peace for us. Thank you Lord.