i'm a preschool teacher. i have a classroom of 18 adorable, energetic, brilliant, and melt-down prone 4 year olds. i've seen these little ones become puddles of lip-trembling, floor grabbing, crying messes. this is usually caused by someone saying "such and such" or doing "this and that" sometimes it's over not being able to find the periwinkle colored crayon.... there's times my co-teacher and i exchange "seriously, this is about that" looks (covertly of course, their feelings are of the utmost import) and then we quickly scoop them into our arms, or kneel down beside them and calmly talk them through the life-ruining incident of wanting the bulldozer but having to settle for the dump truck. (soon to be) husband does this for me on a pretty much daily basis now too.
today's lip quivering, floor grabbing, trembling cry fest was well called for though. i have a very close family member, whom is ill (more so mentally than physically, but, they're both tied together...), and this close male family member sometimes says very unkind things. i had become pretty great at drawing boundaries, which resulted in conversations being had only every few months. well, with mr. wonderful and i's wedding quickly approaching, my communication with this family member has had to increase. i received a phone call from a number i didn't recognize, so i did what anyone would do, i answered it (never do this, seriously, and the one time i do!). i was greeted with unkindness, to say the least. after a few moments of being verbally treated like a barroom brawl, and me staring almost blankly at (soon to be) husband, then looking at him with a hurt-filled expression, i decided to hang up. the damage had already been done though. tears welled up in my eyes, my lip quivered, and i turned away from the stove where i was heating up those awesome left-overs from yesterday. mr. wonderful embraced me, and turned off the stove, and then embraced me again. he offered words of encouragement, but much like my 4 year olds in class, i wasn't really hearing them. i pouted. i stared at my delicious food, no longer hungry, i wanted to become a puddle. he sat the table for me and pulled his chair next to mine. how could i refuse this?! i took my bowl of delicious left over chicken enchilada made up crock pot soup thing, and sat next to him. he led us in prayer, comforted me, encouraged me, supported me. then, like my 4 year olds in class, i pulled myself from being a puddly mess in the floor, and just cuddled to him. he continued to encourage me, support me, and be so gentle with me-a stark contrast to the family member i had just spoken with.
i love this man.
"In the same way I will not cause pain without allowing something new to be born," --isaiah 66:9 (ncb translation)
(soon to be) husband sharpens me, and always is the perfect example of gentle strength with me. through the times that mr. wonderful has to be gentle and strong with me/for me, i know that God is birthing a new thing in me and through me.
today's lip quivering, floor grabbing, trembling cry fest was well called for though. i have a very close family member, whom is ill (more so mentally than physically, but, they're both tied together...), and this close male family member sometimes says very unkind things. i had become pretty great at drawing boundaries, which resulted in conversations being had only every few months. well, with mr. wonderful and i's wedding quickly approaching, my communication with this family member has had to increase. i received a phone call from a number i didn't recognize, so i did what anyone would do, i answered it (never do this, seriously, and the one time i do!). i was greeted with unkindness, to say the least. after a few moments of being verbally treated like a barroom brawl, and me staring almost blankly at (soon to be) husband, then looking at him with a hurt-filled expression, i decided to hang up. the damage had already been done though. tears welled up in my eyes, my lip quivered, and i turned away from the stove where i was heating up those awesome left-overs from yesterday. mr. wonderful embraced me, and turned off the stove, and then embraced me again. he offered words of encouragement, but much like my 4 year olds in class, i wasn't really hearing them. i pouted. i stared at my delicious food, no longer hungry, i wanted to become a puddle. he sat the table for me and pulled his chair next to mine. how could i refuse this?! i took my bowl of delicious left over chicken enchilada made up crock pot soup thing, and sat next to him. he led us in prayer, comforted me, encouraged me, supported me. then, like my 4 year olds in class, i pulled myself from being a puddly mess in the floor, and just cuddled to him. he continued to encourage me, support me, and be so gentle with me-a stark contrast to the family member i had just spoken with.
i love this man.
"In the same way I will not cause pain without allowing something new to be born," --isaiah 66:9 (ncb translation)
(soon to be) husband sharpens me, and always is the perfect example of gentle strength with me. through the times that mr. wonderful has to be gentle and strong with me/for me, i know that God is birthing a new thing in me and through me.
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