My cousin's towels still look brand new.

My cousin's towels still look brand new.

Now, to qualify that statement, she hasn't been married 2 years yet, and I DID shower in her guest bathroom.  And I suppose I didn't ask, but maybe she bought them new for the occasion.  But, no matter the circumstances, they still look new.

My towels, on the other hand, look old and tattered.  Now, granted, I've been married for 7 1/2 years.  We don't have a guest room, and our towels get used by 5 people on a daily basis.  You couldn't pass them off as new if you wanted to!

So, this morning, the towels have me thinking.  It's not just my towels that look old and tattered.  I'm pretty sure my marriage doesn't look brand new anymore.

I'm not going to lie.  We've done a lot of "living" in that 7 1/2 years.  We've lived in 5 different locations...and have been in the same house for 4 1/2.  We've welcomed 3 children into our family, and grieved as Heaven ushered in 2.  There's been job loss and loss of loved ones.  There have been scary medical diagnoses.  We've had our share of "reasons" to look a little tattered around the edges.

But we used to play together.  We used to sit on the couch next to each other and watch movies.  We used to sit at the table and play board games together.  We used to play video games together (even though it's not my favorite past-time).  We used to take walks together.  We used to think just a little harder about how our words and actions affected the other.  We used to, we used to, we used to.

I don't know what's happened.  Maybe it's the 3 kids I mentioned.  Maybe it's just pure laziness.  Maybe our "stuff" has gotten in the way.  Whatever the excuse, it's just that...an excuse.

I want my marriage to look new again!  (I wouldn't mind if my towels looked new, too.)  So, I am going to stop being lazy.  I'm going to try and bring a little of the "used to" back.  I want to play games and watch movies and hold hands with my husband.  The next time you see us, I hope you see a different couple.  I hope you see us a little more like we "used to" be. 

Dear Jesus, help me to be the wife I used to be, back when my marriage was brand new.