We were just a few days back from our honeymoon. Unpacked boxes and still in the gift bag wedding gifts were everywhere in our tiny new apartment, with our dreams and plans for our new life piled just as high.
And as we headed out of church that Sunday afternoon, the whole group of friends wanted to hang out…them still dating or single, my husband and I with a whole new set of responsibilities to live up to.
“Can we have them over to our house for lunch? I don’t want to pay to eat out.”
My heart hesitated.
The boxes
The mess.
The dishes hadn’t even been unpacked yet!
And cooking for a group!
What would I make?
Deep breath…
My newlywed wife heart beat hard and scared, but in the same instant I knew. I knew that today set the precedence for tomorrow. I knew that the choice I made now was a first step on a path of our new life together.
I knew that if I wanted to be the woman who’s house was always open no matter the state of order or chaos…
I knew that if I wanted our home to be hospitable and full of love…
I knew that if I wanted to love people by bringing them into our lives and feeding them and serving them…
I knew that on today’s decision hinged the direction our lives would go. Today’s decision would make tomorrow’s decision either easier or harder.
So I forced my shoulders to relax and I took a deep breath and said yes.
And those memories…memories of traipsing through Grocery Outlet to buy spaghetti sauce and sausage, of A and K washing the plates and organizing my new cupboards while I cooked, of squeezing way too many bodies around our little round table, of talking and laughing and no one caring how many boxes were on the floor…those memories are some of my favorite.
And the precedent? It was set.
Each choice in those early days had a purpose.
Each decision was prefaced with a question…is this a pattern we want to establish for our lives? Is this how we want to handle this forever?
Intention…deep breaths…slowing down to think it through…deep breaths again. And the deep breaths and the anxious happened less often as intention became pattern and life and it all brought joy.
Be blessed
<3
{This post is part of my 31 day series called “Breathe” that I am linking up with The Nester for this October writing project}
