comments on being married, month ten.

It’s fitting that Elise let me step in to write about some of the ins and outs of our month since, as you all know by now, her free time has witnessed a metamorphosis. That is, it has shrunk.

As a result, she has outsourced the formulation of this month’s collection of thoughts. Well, not really. It would take Elise 20 minutes to write what will now take me embarrassingly longer. She thought it would be good to let me reflect and write this time around.

Shall we?

-Every day, all the glory in what we find ourselves doing, thinking of, and speaking of, is God’s. We are continually learning this lesson since each hour brings its own challenge not to claim any of it as ours. Increasingly we see that we have nothing to boast of, except that we are here to serve the one true and mighty God.

-We were reminded a few weeks ago that there are few enjoyments able to contend with a good day on the water, with wind to keep the sails flexed.

-Elise’s favorite place to keep her retainer is on our counter, right next to the stove, just a few inches from the knife block…which also happens to be my favorite place for it (!) That is a fake exclamation point.

-My wife still looks a smidge dorky when she wears aforementioned retainer. Saving grace is it does happen to be adorable. It’s like pig-tails for her mouth.

-Like every month, there must be plenty of time spent snuggling. I’m completely serious. It is a non-negotiable built-in part of the day.

-In the near two years we have both been living in Durham, we’ve seen the Lord provide true friendship and bonds that have begun to truly strengthen and deepen. Brothers and sisters in Christ. We’re grateful for a community that walks with Jesus and seeks out those who don’t.

-It’s been interesting to learn more about how best to show Elise what women inherently treasure: that they are beautiful and they are loved. I’m not the dozen roses and candlelit dinner type because my wife isn’t that type. This doesn’t mean she doesn’t love the occasional surprise outing or gift, but the “flash in the pan” ideas are easy to come by. For Elise, it’s a lot of thoughtfulness. To listen, to lead with patience, and to look for ways to help. Practicing these with any level of consistency will be the lifelong work in progress, and it is hardly a glamorous learning curve!

-It should be noted that if we stick to our current pace, after having just finished off another bowl full of it and arugula, Elise and I will have consumed more kale than any other human pairing has in one calendar month by the time August expires.

-My favorite morning game is to ask Elise, essentially right when she wakes up, what she dreamt about. She usually goes off on a minimum 3 minute recap of very detail-laden stories, and I get to laugh. For a couple weeks we were both having odd vivid dreams about babies. Not on a nightly basis, but every few days. Truth be told, I can’t remember whose babies they were or if there were any giant babies involved. Actually, I would definitely remember if there was a baby giant. My only interpretation for why we were having these dreams is that most everyone we know is either with child, wants to be soon, or have already had a child or two, and that these dreams are manifesting in order to satisfy any similar states we may eventually think of or want to entertain in the next five + PLUS + years.

-Finally, I do have a request. In short: pray for your neighbor, your friends and relatives, pray for the lost and broken, the misguided and defenseless. If there is one human trend we can count on continuing to observe, it is that of our proclivity for evil and destruction. Wherever you are, there is a struggle of some sort nearby, regardless of whether or not you can see or hear it. Just being aware of this is a start. Taking action to serve more than ourselves is progress.

Much love to you all from the Nelsons!