03 February 2012

Five Minute Friday ~ Real


Do you ever feel swept away by unexpected "real-ness" where you least expected to find it?

I was recently watching a movie... and the story took an out of the blue twist from the traditional Hollywood protocols and values... and I was enchanted.

Especially when one of the characters said the following about marriage:

"We need a witness to our lives.  There's a billion people on the planet, what does any one life really mean? But in a marriage, you're promising to care about everything.  The good things, the bad things, the terrible things, the mundane things, all of it, all of the time, every day.  You're saying 'Your life will not go unnoticed because I will notice it.  Your life will not go unwitnessed because I will be your witness. ' " *
Isn't the real, nitty gritty of the marriage relationship rather eloquently expressed in those words? Real doesn't usually come all dressed up and fancy, but in patched and faded jeans and a threadbare flannel. It isn't distinguished; therefore we often overlook it.

So often, all I want to know is that I matter to someone else... that I am noticed and would be missed if I was suddenly no longer around. I know I matter to God... but it tends to remain a theoretical knowledge... until it becomes real.

Then I tangibly feel His hug through the the very real and sheltering arms of my husband, hear His concern in an email from afar, smell His service in the scent of fresh-baked-by-my-brand-new-nine-year-old-bread, taste His generosity through a meal provided by new friends and watch His delight sparkle in the eyes of my little and not so little ones.

*(Susan Sarandon's character in the movie "Shall We Dance.")

8 comments:

  1. I love what you said in this post. God uses the tangible to tell us the story of His love. I am so blessed by God's love as seen through my husband and children. Thanks for sharing. Beautiful words.

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    1. thanks when we just open our eyes and look around and really see... how can we feel anything but overwhelmingly blessed?

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  2. Amen! This was a cool breeze in my face today.

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    1. thanks jill... i love the fact that we are "in touch" again via blogging.

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  3. "It isn't distinguished; therefore we often overlook it."

    What a great challenge to look at the REALness of our lives, acknowledging the beauty that is so often overlooked!

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    1. i'm so struck by how often i miss the everyday wonderful simply because i'm longing for the once in a lifetime extraordinary...

      and the reality is that a lifetime of everyday wonderful totally overwhelms a once in a lifetime, doesn't it?

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  4. Now that is real romance! And also, amen!

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    1. i often tease my hubs that he isn't a romantic... and if flowers and fancy trips and candlelit dinners define romantic, he isn't...

      when i first began learning to speak french, i was confused by the term "roman" - or the french word for novel because all i could see was romance and for a long time, i assumed it meant a love story or novel focusing or a love relationship.

      in other words, the root or base of our word romantic is story... in that sense, God has given me a man with an amazing story and who is willing to keep living to the fullest his story, every day, together with me.

      so... i guess my guy is a romantic!

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