As many of you know, this past weekend I went to Nashville with my husband and friends. And while that story is one for another day, I did hear something that I thought would work perfectly for a post vacation post. Did you know Nashville was in another time zone? I did not. I figured since it was pretty much South of Ohio we would not be crossing any time zones. Anyways, they are an hour behind my normal time and because of our stupid internal clocks, I was always up around 5:30am their time (yes I know it’s pathetic that I can only sleep in till 6:30am on my days off….). Hotels usually don’t get the best TV but they always get religious TV. I woke up one morning to a husband and wife talking about how hard marriage can be, which we all can vouch for. But the next thing they said is really what inspired this post. Are you ready to have an “Aha” moment so early? Because here it is. They said “Marriage is hard, but don’t forget to play at it.”

Life is hard. Raising kids is hard. And marriage is hard. But in the midst of all that struggle, don’t forget to add a little bit of fun in there. Otherwise, what is that point of it all? Do you really think God just wants you to struggle? That He never wants to see a smile on your face or happiness in your soul? Of course not. God gives us plenty of things to help make the hard time a little less hard but it is up to us to actually pursue the happiness. God is not just going to plan you a long weekend getaway with your husband and friends (though could you imagine that conversation with your boss asking for Friday off? LOL!). You have to take life by the horns and just go do it. We know you love your kids, so please realize that taking a vacation with your husband is not a crime. Amidst all the poop, and diapers, and going days without showering, sometimes marriage isn’t as romantic as we hoped it would be when we were growing up. But getting dressed up every once in awhile to just impress your husband is kind of fun. And it doesn’t even have to be as big as an actual get away or vacation. Just go out to supper. Because your marriage is worth finding a babysitter for a night.

After losing a limb, marriage got even harder. But every marriage goes through hard. And that doesn’t make my hard any more hard than someone else’s. Because marriage takes work. However, even the most work obsessed person cuts loose every now and again. It might not be for long, but it does happen. So “play”. Go on adventures with your kids. Go on adventures without your kids. Go on adventures with your friends. Forget the fact that you have one leg for a minute and go get drunk-y pants in downtown Nashville. I don’t really care as long as it is not hard. We spend quite a bit of our lives facing hard, so take a break from it. You, your kids, and your marriage will thank you for it.

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