"Endure to the End"

I have mentioned frequently on this blog about how hard it is to be a "mom" and not long for something more. At the very least...a job where you are not told three times a day how horrible you are...and that you stink at what you do! LOL! Anyway, tonight I had it out with my nine year old daughter (Lilli) and somehow in the process ended up getting my finger smashed in her door. One more battle wound to brag about in my older years I guess. (Smile!) Whenever this kind of thing happens...which is way more frequently then I would like...I tend to feel inadequate and unfulfilled. Tonight was not different...I remember praying in my heart to my Heavenly Father to remove these feelings of hopelessness...and to fill my heart instead with his peace and unconditional love. I prayed for him to open my eyes...and help me be grateful for what I have right now in this moment. David and I were going out for a late night dinner...but at the moment that I was praying in the car...he was talking to my brother-in-law, Zyad, and asking him if he and my sister Tricia would like to join us. I watched him laughing and conversing with Zyad...and suddenly my answer to my prayers came. The spirit whispered in my ear...you have a husband who doesn't "give up" but endures to the end. My heart was full...and my gratitude for what I have...right in this moment came! I do have a husband who doesn't give up or run for cover...but one who patiently...even sometimes painfully...continues forward on the path back to our Heavenly Father! Every marriage is filled with challenges and peaks and valleys...my marriage has not been any different! We have truly been put through the ringer throughout our almost 14 years of marriage! We have had some really HIGH highs, and some really LOW lows! Throughout it all...David has stood by my side...and together we have worked through whatever has come into our pathway! I have seen sorrow when a spouse "gives" up and doesn't endure to the end. I have seen my sister-in-law go through a divorce because her husband decided that he wanted to be with somebody else....and I have had my best friend go through a divorce because her husband chose to leave the church and afterward became too difficult to work things out with. I have seen the deep pain and sorrow that both of these women have had to endure...and it makes me even more grateful for the husband that I have...who keeps getting knocked down in the ring...but yet gets up and continues the fight! David is my Hero! Though we have both caused each other probably the "greatest" pain in each other's lives...we have also been fortunate to have shared some of the deepest joy as well. He is my best friend...my ALL...and my heart rejoices ever more that the Lord put us together. I know that we still have many mountains to climb...and many rough edges to rub off each other...but there is NO one that I would rather do that with. I'm thankful to the Lord this night...that when his daughter cried out for her eyes to be opened and her heart to be softened...he did so...with the realization of what a wonderful husband I truly have! My heart is full of peace...and I feel his unconditonal love for me! May we ALL endure to the end is my humble prayer! ~ Christina