My journey to remember Love

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.
—Ephesians 4:2 NIV
TODAY’S DARE
The first part of this dare is fairly simple. Although love is communicated in a number of ways, our words often reflect the condition of our heart. For the next day, resolve to demonstrate patience and to say nothing negative [...]

For this challenge I did indeed endeavour to not say anything negative to my wife. Although this seems like such a natural thing to do, it is actually more difficult than it seems. Saying nothing negative also includes, when you stub your toe, trip over something that someone else left out, get cutoff in traffic, or just plain want to be in a foul mood. These are the times when this days lesson will really be put to the test.

We both were going strongly with this one, until late in the evening we allowed a discussion that we were having to get a little more inflammed that either of us felt comfortable with. This lesson is going to be an ongoing lesson to learn, I can see that now.

Through this lesson I am learning that it is not a bad thing not to have something ready to say at any given moment. I say this because I am sometimes quick to say something just to avoid an awkward silence in a conversation. Sometimes the things that I have chosn to say (as void fillers) have indeed either had no place in the current conversation, or have completely embarrassed my wife.  This I can see now, is something that I will have to work very hard to correct. It will be a long road, but one worth travelling to get back to the relationship that my wife and I have SO enjoyed in the past.

Britt this is for you, you are my love, my life, my everything.

My wife and I have been married for over 19 years, and together for over 21 years.

We have recently discovered just how distant we have both become from each other.

Just the other day, on trip to our favorite bookstore she found The Love Dare. Through an act of intense courage she askedme if I would be willing to take the dare. After looking at it for just a couple of moments Iknew that we had stumbled across something that might just work for our broken down communication. Besides I have never really been one to back down from a dare.

That evening I found out where Fireproof was playing and saw that it was in only 3 theatres in our state, however one of them was only about 10 miles past where she works. So we tried to go to the late show that evening, but unfortunately we were 10 minutes late. SO we went last night, which coincidentally was the evening of Day 1 for us.

I dont think that we both have cried so much at the same time in years. Once you get past the bad acting (in the beginning the acting is indeed horrible) and once the story starts to develop, I saw so many similarities between the couple, and ourselves.

As I have never been one to write journals of any sort, this is going to be an extra challenge to myself. I hope to chronicle my own thoughs and feelings here, so as I go through The Love Dare I can see when and where I have changed. I have chosen to use this forum as the archive of this dare as a way for my wife to have access to me, and my thoughts along the way. If anyone else enjoys my words as I go along even better, that is just icing on the cake.

Now onto the dare, this one is for you Britt, you are my love, my life, and my everything.