The JOY Challenge: Day 10 - Saying (and Saving) Grace

I'm deliberately finding joy for forty days. To start from day one click here.    

Each morning before we go into the world, husband and I sit down, grasp hands, ask for grace on our day.

 

I don't remember how this began...I think as an anxious newlywed I feared that he would not come home again. I prayed mostly for safety in those days.

 

As time went on, other requests slipped in...work, those we loved, our desire to have a family.

 

It still feels awkward much of the time, this coming together.

 

You think it would be easy, natural...after all, our lips meet without any commotion.

 

But there is something about the bringing together of souls—of two becoming one—in a real, tangible way that never feels like we think it should.

 

So we stumble our way through the words, often distracted, sometimes simply doing so in obligation.

 

But STILL, still, God somehow meets us there. I know it. I feel it.

 

And those prayers are the tie that binds, the cord that leads our hearts back together when we're prone to stray.

 

So we say grace every morning...and then we receive it.

 

Enough for that moment, enough for that day.

 

And, sometimes, when we least expect it, joy quietly slips in too.

 

Would you like to join me in the Joy challenge? Just share one thing that brings you joy. I'll have random giveaways for people who comment or subscribe during the next forty days. And you never know when it could be you...  

Comments

[C.C.]

Day two for me... I find joy in identifying with friends.

http://his-heart.blogspot.com/2009/09/joy-challenge-day-2.html

[Betty]

"It still feels awkward much of the time, this coming together.

You think it would be easy, natural...after all, our lips meet without any commotion."

Thanks for those words. I have been married for 37 years, and I still feel this way. I really thought it was just me, just a flaw... maybe not.
Betty

[Katie]

My kids and I have been inspired to start a graditude journal thanks to Ann V. I have found great joy in not only writing in my own but in seeing what my kids are thankful for or what brings them joy. God is so gracious to us.

[dawn]

I find joy in taking a break to breathe and settle.

http://dawnsgoodlife.blogspot.com/2009/09/its-good-for-my-soul.html

but I really wanted to comment that I appreciate you sharing that it is awkward to come together with your husband and pray. We pray together but it is amazing that it can feel weird sometimes. Glad I'm not alone I guess...and it is proof that there is evil wanting to put a damper on something beautiful.

Thanks for the post. my first visit...i'll be back.

[Lisa notes...]

You reminded me that I have not prayed a real prayer with my husband in awhile. It's awkward for us, too, and I can't explain why. Thanks for provoking my thoughts...and more prayers.

[Maria Jones-Davidson]

Holley, Once again, great posts from you! I see marriage in the center of your posts these days and it's great! Two people becoming one in God...Thanks be to the Lord for all the days that we have been married! Some days were nothing but trials... however, most days have been blissful! Thanks be to God! I often coach my husband to say grace before meals as he sometimes forgets! Saying grace has been a part of me and my family as well as saving grace! Yes, the saving of the Lord! It will be lovely to go out and share our faith with somebody this week and share the saving grace of the Lord! Just wonderful!

[Denise]

My husband and I have been in full time ministry for 35 yrs......the last 6 yrs have been the hardest after a devious "power struggle" ending in our forced termination of that pastorate....but joy is still there....sometimes hard to find.....but it's in the little things when I wonder how we will go on "at our age"....and yet He provides....always just enough!

[Fiona]

My joy thing today - receiving a phone call from a friend yesterday when I really needed it!

Another beautiful post today Holley!

[amy]

As always, a great post from you!
What a beautiful ritual. You reminded me that I seem to have stopped praying for my husband and I to pray together. I've talked to him about it, and he feels awkward. I prayed about it for months and I realize now I stopped, but I'm going to start praying again that he would be willing.
Today I am finding joy in the words you write on this blog. Thanks for pointing us to Jesus.

[Amber@theRunaMuck]

Holley, this is simple, true, good, and right.

I love to read you, and you know what brings JOY for me today? Pursuing it - and knowing you're pursuing it with me.

[www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1404336542]

One of my greatest “joys” comes from watching our handicapped daughter, Misty, interact with her Daddy, who is also my best friend. Misty, who is now physically almost 23 years old but mentally just a small child, is a sweet breath of innocence that I daily Praise the Lord for bringing into our lives. Although she cannot talk or chew food, and she still wears diapers, she has her own special way of communicating with us by taking our hand and leading us to what she wants. She has a keen sense of humor and loves to do things that startle us, like dropping things on the floor, and then she laughs at our reactions. Our two oldest daughters left home two years ago, so now it is just Misty & us. I Praise the Lord for my sweet husband, who is so patient and kind, and who loves to clown around with Misty and make her giggle with glee. And she just loves her Daddy. Although we are getting up in our years and we’ve had to make many sacrifices throughout the years for Misty, I will always thank God in my heart for entrusting her precious life into our hands and giving us the privilege to take care of one of His very special angels. When the burdens of this world are sometimes more than we can bear, and we’re longing for Jesus to come and take us home, I just reach out and hold my dear sweet Misty, and I can feel God wrapping us both in His tender love and filling us with His ever abiding peace. And I feel a joy that is beyond all words, like a sudden burst of sunlight on a cloudy day.

[Sarah Dawn]

And, sometimes, when we least expect it, joy quietly slips in too. I love the sweet gifts of our Lord as we unwrap them each day.

Blessings to you from the mission field,
Sarah Dawn

[Catherine]

I, too struggle with the "tension" that comes when my husband and I pray together...Your post, and the other comments echoing this same sentiment, made me glad to know we aren't "weird";) ... but so very sad that this issue is present in so many marriages. Praying for that stronghold to be broken!

I'll be joining you in the Joy challenge, thank you! Today my Joy comes from a little one, just learning to crawl... who is squealing in her own joy at her new found mobility :).

Blessings,
Catherine

[Traci Little]

Holley,

Thank you SO MUCH for this reminder. My husband and I really need to pray together much more often than we do. It is so true (IT IS HARD). But it is SO worth it!

Love,
Traci

[Mayte]

Joy in the noise of everyday,
Joy in the uncertainty of what's in the future,
Joy in the quiet and in the waiting, by simply remembering who is holding our hearts.

[deidra]

Hmmm...We used to pray with the children, every morning before we left the house. Now that the children are gone, I guess the morning prayer left with them. I'll have to go and get that back. Thanks for the reminder.
Joy? Always, it is grace.

[Janine Petry]

Holley--what beautiful thoughts; the past two days have blessed me so much, as you reflect on the gift of two becoming one. What a treasure you hold up and out for all to see; a true testimony to the beauty our divine, perfect Lover. Always thankful for how He's using you to speak to me and to so many others. Blessings, Janine :)

[Pamela]

One thing that brings me joy is singing. Oh, I can't 'sing.' But I can make a joyful noise! And whether it's in the shower, or biking with my ipod, I love singing my heart out to God~ It's such an amazing way to build your faith!

[Especially Heather]

Oh Holley, how this spoke to my heart... I have been married to a preacher man for over a decade and it still feels awkward when we pray together..I am not one to pray out loud so that adds to my anxiety, but my husband knows my heart, and loves me despite myself. Thank you so much for these encouraging words, and for speaking my heart so beautifully..
-H

[Becca]

Thank-you for this beautiful post!!

[Nancy]

I just got back from meet the teacher for the new year of mothers day out and I can see the joy filled days ahead and my computer got fixed

[Mary Lynn]

Joy for this day was eating an ice cream cone with my little boy on a park bench. This joy was bittersweet as he is almost too tall for the free baby cone- He has grown up so much this summer! Joy is eating ice cream with the cutest and sweetest little man in the world!