A Love Worth Waiting For

     There is the saying that "good things come to those that wait".  With most great things that I have experienced in my life, there was some waiting and preparation involved so that does not exclude the waiting process for Mr. Awesome to come into my life.  During my years as a single, there were so many times of uncertainty, frustration, and extreme disappointment.  I was fighting and fighting and fighting to understand love, but ended up bruised and confused. I felt that finding love just should not be that hard, because isn't that a quest that we are all after?  However, after much reflection, I am glad that I went through the period of waiting and preparation, because I ultimately learned to put some priorities in order which included loving God first and loving myself.  If Mr. Awesome and I had come into each others lives prior to when we did, then we would not have been as prepared for each other as we were.  I would not have been willing to love and respect him as a man needs to be respected and I would have let Miss Independent try to run the show (Yes, I was a hot mess at one point).

     It was during the time of living as a single and waiting on God's timing for a mate that I finally begin to learn what love was.  Although I studied the bible, someone introduced me to I Corinthians 13 and when I read it, I realized that what I thought was love being presented to me was not love at all.

⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.⁸ Love never fails.


     Although it is only God who loves us perfectly, I learned that this was the template in which to know if it was true love that was being presented to me. . . . . . . . . So when Mr. Awesome stepped into the picture, I was blessed to recognize it for what it was.  It was truly a love worth waiting for.

Mother In Law Or Mother Out law???

      
     We have all heard the stories of the infamous Mother in-law.  She is usually the opinionated one who has no problem with letting her son in-law know that no matter how well he cares for her daughter, he will always have to prove himself worthy to sit at the dinner table. In other cases, she is the one who does not mind "helping" her daughter in-law by giving her unwanted tips on cleaning house the "right and proper" way, making meals the "right and proper" way, and caring for the family as only momma in-law can.  There are so many couples who deal with the foolishness that is called the Mother outlaw and some families have been broken because of the strain that this causes.  I was "fortunate" enough to have witnessed in-law crisis in my family as a child and prayed that when I got married, that it would be a more pleasant relationship. So when someone recently asked me if I had     in-laws or outlaws, I was glad to say that I have in-laws.

     When Mr. Awesome and I were getting serious and it was time to meet each other's parents, I must say that I was shaking in my boots at the thought of how the initial meetings would turn out.  When it was time to meet his mom, I wondered if I would be greeted by a blue-haired lady who would try to serve me a special concoction of "happy" juice that she brewed in her basement.  I wondered if she would give me a first glance and decide that I was not right for her son based on the shoes that I was wearing that day.  As the time got closer, I became more and more nervous as I did not know what to expect.  But I was thoroughly elated when I was received with open arms.  I must say that we got off to a great start and our relationship has grown nicely. And today, I can confidently say that I have a great, supportive, and loving mom in-law.  In fact, I have two which means I am doubly blessed.  With the love of my own mother and the love of two mom in-laws, I have more than I asked for.