An overnight...

Last night, I surprised Patrick with an overnight date night.  Let's just say it was long over-due! {As in three years? We haven't been away together, alone, since B was born!}  I asked our babysitters {they are twins and I'm so glad they work together, our boys are active!} if they could do an overnight and they agreed.  I planned all of this while Patrick was in Utah last week, so he was clueless!

We went out to dinner and then while we were waiting to order, I said, "Can I tell you about your surprise now?"  After a little coercing I blurted out, "we are staying in a hotel tonight!". I'm kind of beyond romantic, I know.  It was fun to know that we weren't going home after dinner.  And once we were checked into the hotel, we both said something along the lines of: this feels crazy!

It was so sweet to relax and talk together.  We read a little of "What Did You Expect" {by Paul Tripp -- read it! Your marriage will change forever.  Because of grace and the gospel and real life, honest issues that Tripp presents.} and talked about some of the questions.  We slept in this morning and grabbed a quick breakfast before coming back home.  It was short, but sweet.

Being with Patrick -- just us -- makes me feel so young {not that 30 is old!} and carefree.  I love hanging out with him.  I love processing and sharing and working through things with him.  I love, crazily enough, that we are exact opposites.  It made for a hard first few years, but through the Lord's kindness and grace, we are embracing our differences and are better people for it!  Patrick makes me feel like a whole person.

Cultivating our marriage is worth every sacrifice and every struggle.  Marriage is the single most important thing that God has given us here on this earth to treasure and be apart of.  We are representing Christ and His church!  If you can't work on, cultivate and grow in your marriage -- how can you grow else where? {Think: How can you raise your children well and together if you don't have a good, growing relationship with your spouse.}  What an honor, and a privilege and humble joy to walk this adventure with someone that God created just for me, and me for him?  I don't take that lightly.

Marriage consists of two sinners.  Working together, by God's grace, to grow in holiness and to bring glory to God.  We started as two immature people and we've grown up together.  Your spouse will never meet your expectations.  Your spouse will never fill your voids or your deepest desires.  Marriage is constant, never-giving-up, laugh until you cry, cry until you laugh work.  And it's impossible without Jesus -- He is the only One who can meet every need and care for every hurt.  And He is the only One who can give you everything you need to be married!

Patrick and I have fairly consistent date nights and try to invest in one another frequently.  We talk constantly and, by God's grace, have grown tremendously in our communication {with much more growth necessary!}.  But this overnight, it was so good.  It was such a good way to cultivate us.  To just be together.

So, anyways.  Overnight date nights are awesome.  And worth it!

How do you cultivate your marriage?