Have you ever had times in your life when you were just bursting with the desire for the shoe to be on the other foot? I have....I am right now, actually. I have amazing in-laws. I really do. They are the kind of people that I am truly ecstatic to introduce as being a part of me. I can only claim them through marriage, of course, but we claim each other beyond the vows I think. And after years of truly getting to know one another we are family. It hasn't always been easy. We have had our battles and differences of opinion for sure, but this fight has paid off with huge dividends. We decided individually and together that we were going to be invested in the other one. This wasn't a formal decision notarized and signed in blood, but it was a heart cry first. I woke up one day and I found myself at a loss because I felt as though there was something missing in this relationship. You know the truth of it, we were different and yet very similar. I think that happens a lot. In marriage scenarios especially. You say "I do" to the whole gang, not just the one you eagerly anticipating to join to. People underestimate the power of lifetime relationship and its affects on them. It is in many ways a package deal.

When Mark and I first married, I came into a completely different life than I was used to. I remember having a knock at the door on several occasions and opening it to LOADS of groceries and necessities....with their smiling faces behind them. There they were with nothing in mind but the desire to see us fed, clothed and happy. I truly did not know what to do with this kind of influx. Christmas was like Costco under lights. No joke. We would get toilet paper, shampoo and chili and tuna and anything else non-perishable they could stuff in a ginormous stocking. They would literally wrap everything that was able to be. If tape would stick to it...it was wrapped! Incredible, but my insecurities kicked in and instead of seeing it for what it was....amazing people speaking a different love language than me operating exactly as they were made to....I saw it as an invasion. I think I thought that maybe they were saying that I had failed at being a wife and that they had to mend what was broken. I was young and a little stupid. Here I am sixteen years later, instead of resenting, embracing this culture they have created in such a way that I have to be like them when I grow up. Here is my newest epiphany (I love that word). Receiving is so necessary to move onto greatness in giving. Believe me that giving out of need is also so necessary, but I think sometimes it is pride that pushes us in that direction rather than humility. Here's the deal. If we always have the ability to make it all on our own we are missing out on so much more to life. We can become like an island out in the sea. Beautiful from afar off, but when stranded there, not so much the paradise we perceived it to be.

I am learning so much right now in my life. I look at every situation, good and bad, as an open door into the wondrous world way beyond me. I am resistant to open my eyes all the way at times, but even through the slits some light still gets in. My amazing family, on both sides, have given of who they are and what they have over and over to support who we are and where we are headed. I have in the past reluctantly accepted out of pure survival. I now have understanding of the reverberating effect that comes from receiving what God has provided no matter what source He chooses to use to give it.I also comprehend how imperative it is for me to take what is being offered. In turn others have their tanks filled with the satisfaction of giving away more of who they are, and so the circle of life continues. Whichever side of the coin you might find yourself on, I encourage you to embrace it, relax, and go the distance. It is an opportunity to be forever changed by the power of humility!