Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Sparkle

In exactly seven days the husband and I will be celebrating our twentieth wedding anniversary. That's right TWENTY years. Where has the time gone? It definitely does not feel like twenty years!


We have talked for several months now about what we were going to do mark this momentous occasion. 


There have been suggestions of a special trip for just the two of us. There was also the suggestion of a party. While both of these ideas sounded good, the timing is not so good. Easter is just around the corner, so a trip or party would have to happen well after our anniversary. It would also be a struggle to find someone to watch the girls while we were away. And we didn't think a trip or a party would provide the lasting memento of twenty years of marriage that we really wanted.


We finally decided to replace our wedding rings. There were several reasons for this decision: The original rings were yellow gold. I still don't know why I chose yellow gold, I never especially liked yellow gold on me. I think it was the norm twenty years ago. The husband's ring had an intricate pattern that, after twenty years, had become very worn and could not be buffed out without loosing the original look. And new rings would be a lasting reminder of our celebration of twenty years of marriage.


So without further ado...the new rings!




Now, I originally had not planned to blog about the new rings, but the husband has been teasing me since we got them because he seems to think I spend too much time looking at mine. 


I don't!


But would you blame me? 


My original wedding ring did not have any diamonds. This is all very new to me. They are very sparkly!


I really like it! 


Fine! Maybe I have been looking at it frequently. Like when I work on my blog...ooooo sparkly!




Or when I carry my Starbucks Mocha...oooo sparkly!




Or when I pick up my Target bags...oooo sparkly!




Alright I admit it. I do look at it often. It is beautiful and sparkly. I realize though, that under all of that sparkle those diamonds are flawed. No diamond, no matter how lovely it is, will be perfect. Yet I appreciate their beauty and I don't look for or think about their flaws.


Isn't that exactly how I should look at my spouse? 


After twenty years of marriage our flaws and our spouse's flaws can become blatantly obvious. It is difficult in the day to day to hide our imperfections from the people we spend most of our time with. Yet if I continue to look for the "sparkle" in my spouse, his imperfections will fade to the background. And that is absolutely how I would prefer he see me! Oh, how I would prefer he not see my many flaws...many...many flaws!


Now, I'm not saying that marriages don't sometimes have big problems that may need outside help to overcome. Every one of us needs to recognize the areas in our lives that need work. But wouldn't that process be made easier if the person, who promised to love us through everything, good and bad, chose to continue to see the "sparkle" they saw in us the day we met, twenty years later? 


That my friends is my goal for the rest of my life with my husband...to focus on the "sparkle"!




oooo...sparkly!


Christine



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