A happy anniversary

A 2nd hand is now officially needed to count the number of years I've been married (unless you lost a digit in a wood shop accident, in which case you would have needed that 2nd hand a little earlier.  Sorry, Pastor Bruce.)

October 7, 2012 marked 6 years.  6 years of being married to this guy.

My beloved doing his impression of an ant.

I find him to be kind, smart, funny, and honest.  Most importantly though, he has shown me on a deeper level what the Gospel looks like.

Both of us have had to encounter the hard realization that we each married....a sinner.  A sinner, in daily need of Christ's sanctification and grace.

As my brother likes to include in his pre-marital counseling sessions - "Every day is a Leah day." (as in, you think you married Rachel, but you realize you married Leah, someone who falls short of your expectations, of your 'ideal.'  Because in reality, none of us can fully meet each other's greatest desires and longings.  Christ alone can.  Christ alone).  My brother is not known for his tact, but he is known for his insight and honesty. (He, by the way, loves and respects his wife very much.  And also, by the way, my brother did not do our pre-marital counseling.  That would have been awkward.)

Matt and I have miscommunicated with each other, disappointed each other, and hurt each other.  There are times when we have each been inconsiderate, selfish, and blind.

And Christ, in his goodness, has reconciled us to each other and to Himself.  He has softened our hearts when they were hard.  He has given us eyes to see each other.  He has gently convicted us of our wrong doing and has moved us toward each other when it would have been easier to move away from each other.  Only Christ can do that.  It's just not in us naturally to do that.  There is nothing good in me, apart from Christ.  My own righteousness is as filthy rags before Him.

One tool the Lord has used in my marriage is this book.  I have gone back to it on numerous occasions and highly recommend it.

The Marriage Builder

While matters of the heart are not to be taken lightly, we do laugh now about a couple of our beginning marriage "tifs" (ie. the staff Christmas party debacle of 2006).  Matt refers to such times as his "rookie mistakes."  Not that I didn't make my share of errors too (ie. the Ava Gardner experiment of 2007 - note to self: don't "try on for size" a fabulous and elusive 1940's Hollywood persona, however briefly, without letting your husband know that you're "in character.")

Amateurs we were.  It's a good thing we no longer make any mistakes in our marriage. :)

Matt proposed on top of Pikes Peak.  It was 13 miles up and took us 7 hours to hike it.  (It sure was humbling when a spandex-clad 60ish yr. old man jogged past us, summited, and jogged past us AGAIN on his way back down before we had reached the peak.  There is a breed of person in Colorado that regularly runs Pikes Peak.  I am not of that breed.)

I do love the symbolism of climbing that mountain together though. 
When one was weak, the other was strong.  There were pleasant and flatter places, rocky and difficult places, beautiful and breathtaking places.  And when we reached certain vantage points, we could look back and see where we'd been.

Moments after Matt proposed.  I think we look happy and sliiightly nerdy here,
a fairly accurate description of us at other times too.

We trade off each year planning our anniversary (totally stolen idea, thanks Kimber), and this was my year to plan.  So I consulted our "33 for Free" list (all free ways to enjoy Kanas City).

There was no need for deliberation, the clear choice to me being the Nelson Atkins Art Museum.  We drive past it each Sunday on our way to church, staring at it through our car window, and always talk about going there.  We're really not art connoisseurs or anything, just regular ole appreciators of history and culture...and free things:)

I just can't believe this place is FREE!  It's a Kansas City gem.

 

I wanted to capture so much more, there being original pieces that spanned from before Christ to modern times.  Here at least are a few shots.

from Mesopotamia, long before Christ's birth.    Cuneiform etchings all over it.

more Mesopotamian art.
It just baffles me whenever I see something extremely old (thousands of years)
and in amazing condition.  I should really take better care of my stuff. 

This is an unknown bust by an unknown artist.  It's interesting to me that these sculptures and paintings are mostly of real people who lived at some time, somewhere, and now they are forever immortalized in Kansas City.  What were they like?  Were they kind?  Were they awful?

This one reminds me of Pikes Peak.

This one reminded me of a conversation I once had with my dad.  When I asked him what animal he would be if he could be any animal, he said without skipping a beat, "a rich person's lap dog."  Touché, Dad, touché.

Florentine bust of John the Baptist.
Somehow I imagine him to have been much more, mmm, rugged than this.

Seeing this depiction, albeit inaccurate and certainly not gruesome enough, of my Lord paying for my sins gave me pause.  How could He endure such sorrow for me??

I've loved impressionist art since I was a girl when I used to tape Monet calendar prints up in my bedroom.  And here I was enjoying the real thing!

Everyone has a favorite chair - even Picasso.  Interesting fella.

I didn't take any pictures of the surrealist art - it was, after all, a revolt against traditional values and it looks it.  I personally find it strange and unsettling.

Looking at several centuries worth of human expression and displayed ideologies, into my mind flashed a picture of that glorious future day when every knee will bow and every tongue from all nations will confess that Christ is Lord.  One day, the truth will be known to all!

And what museum isn't complete without giant shuttlecocks in the front lawn?

Later that night, we walked around the Plaaaaza

and eventually made our way to Glacé artisan ice cream.  I chose it because they have sorbet, one of the few desserts I can have without feeling like someone is giving my colon an Indian rug burn.  Matt and I both love to try unique food, so I thought this would be perfect.  And it was.

I had the pineapple cilantro sorbet.  Matt went for the french lavender ice cream.  Both were memorably delicious.

I so love and respect this man.  He models to me humility, hard work, honesty, and moderation, and I'm glad to spend my earthly life with him.