Will the Mayan Calendar Affect Your Relationship This Month?
As you've probably heard, the world may be coming to an end in less than a week's time. That's the suspicion some people have because the Mayan Calendar ends (or starts over, according to others), on December 21.
So this got me thinking, what if the world really did end? I started thinking about my marriage in particular. Although I adore my husband, my focus hasn't been on him lately but instead on my girls. The fact that they continue to grow at an alarming rate, my Little Miss eight and my Littlest Miss already almost four months old, causes me to be consumed with wanting to be with them. I find myself chasing memories and desperately trying to make new ones. If my husband comes along for the ride, that's wonderful because, much like them he's easy on the eyes and has left an imprint in my heart but, I don't find myself focusing on our relationship the way I know I should.
I began thinking, "Would change anything about my marriage if I knew when my last day would be?" How would I love him differently? For starters, I would hold my his hand more often. I remember when we were dating how my stomach would swell with butterflies whenever he was near, whenever he so much as reached for my hand. I wouldn't turn my head away when he leaned over to give me a kiss in the morning -- even if he hadn't brushed his teeth. I would spend more nights falling asleep in his arms, bake him his favorite cookies more frequently, and write him more love letters. I would insist on kissing him goodbye each time he left the house, and I would sit with him and watch his favorite TV shows -- because after all, what mattered most was simply being with him. I would hesitate to become angry or annoyed, my frustration over the crumbs on the counter taking a backseat to my value of maintaining a peaceful bond with him.
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I would do my best to show him that he is a priority, and that while I adore our children, I'd make it clear to him that our family wouldn't be what it is without him. I would remind him that I need him -- perhaps more than ever. I would laugh at more of his jokes, and I wouldn't scrunch my face because he made chicken again on his night to cook. I would spend more time smiling and less time worrying about all the things that could go wrong. Instead, I would spend more time focusing on all of the things that have gone right.
I am grateful for my husband not only because he keeps his promises but because he has loved me enough -- enough to keep fighting for us, our family and for me. Enough to reach down and pull me up when I have fallen, enough to wrap his arms around me and let me know that I will be ok -- that I am not broken, I am human and above all, his -- flaws and all.
I could keep listing reasons why I thank God that this is the man who took the time to learn my heart's song and that his arms have been a safe place for me and our children. But I won't. Instead, I will acknowledge that there are some things that need to change. I'm not talking drastic changes. I mean small ones, like allowing him to see my eyes light up when he smiles at me and expressing my gratitude when he tells me I am beautiful, and maybe even wearing the shoes he bought me for my birthday.
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If I knew that December 21 would be my last day with my husband, I certainly would love him differently. I would catapult him to the top of my priority list, and I would love him better. By better, I mean with the same passion that fueled the love I had for him years ago when my heart ached over the fact that it was possible that our relationship had run its course and, the same passion that caused me to weep as I wrote my wedding vows because I knew that God didn't just give me what I wanted; he gave me what I needed and also what my child needed. And with that, He gave me a chance to experience a selfless kind of love.
Even though the world likely will still be spinning on December 22, might I remind you that, as the saying goes, "Tomorrow is not promised." Each day we get another chance to love is worthy of us loving with everything in us! After all, it is possible that we won't get a chance to start over or do better tomorrow.
So perhaps the best thing to do is to start loving differently today. My children are my world but my husband? Well, he's my world too.
If you knew the world was ending would you love any differently?
- By Krishann Briscoe
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