Questions, comments and yes, stares!!

For Christmas my husband, Robby, bought me an all black t-shirt with white writing on the front. When I opened this gift and unfolded it to read the words printed on the chest of the shirt, Robby braced himself with a slight smirk on his face. He wasn't quite sure what my reaction would be but he hoped I would see the humor in it and that it would be safe to laugh. But what I don't think he anticipated was that I would not only see the humor in the shirt but that I would indeed wear the shirt and wear it proudly & frequently. My daughter shot a glance over to her father just as I was opening this gift. I already knew it was going to be something of maybe a "gag" gift and watching their faces made it even more intriguing what I would be reading on this shirt. As it turned out the shirt read: MY HUSBAND ROCKS! and when I read it I immediately shot a look at Robby and belted out in laughter! I absolutely loved the shirt! "Oh my gosh! Seriously? Where did you find this?" Christmas shopping with the kids led them to one of my daughters favorite stores, CRAVE, in the Bossier Mall. Robby saw the shirt,showed it to my daughter and they agreed that he should buy the shirt for me. Coincidentally, there was a matching shirt that read: MY WIFE ROCKS! but of course, he didn't buy that one!  HA!!  I have worn that shirt several times since Christmas. I have no problems wearing a shirt that speaks the truth. What troubles me though, are the questions, comments, and even the stares I get about the shirt. People that I don't even know have stopped me to ask me if the shirt is true, or how much my husband had to pay me to wear the shirt, even once I was asked if I lost some sort of bet. Recently, I was walking into a pretty busy Starbucks for my morning coffee and the people sitting at the outside tables of course were watching those of us coming and going from the coffee shop, but it was obtusely obvious those who couldn't take their eyes off of my shirt...turning hard to catch a look to see if they read it correctly. Inside the coffee house two older gentlemen, who appeared refined and of an upper class status, seated at a table close to the ordering line, were blatantly staring at my shirt. I placed my order and walked passed the men to the pick up line to wait on my coffee. I could see it in one of the men's eyes that he wanted to say something, ask me about my shirt but just chose not to. That evening a server at a local restaurant who waited on my friend and I asked me if my husband  made me wear my shirt. I of course explained that I wear it because I believe the words written on it. She made the comment that before she left the house to go to work, her husband has irritated her. I said "Yes, my husband irritates me too, but you know what, that's called marriage. You just have to roll with the punches!" I'm not sure why it's so surprising that a married woman would voluntarily wear a shirt that praised her husband so bluntly, but I find it to be incredibly sad that it is a surprise and that more people aren't outwardly praising their spouses for who they are and even more so because they simply love them. I love my husband. I've told him on many occasions of the time I spent praying that God would send me who he had planned for me and that I would know when he came along. Robby is my answered prayer. He doesn't just "ROCK, he is my rock!!  The bible says in Ephesians 5:25 "Husbands love your wives just as Christ love the church and gave himself up for her."  Ephesians 5:28 "... He who loves his wife, also loves himself."  My husband loves me and that's something I never question, not even when we've had serious disagreements, and we have had disagreements that would rattle any marriage weak or strong. I know Robby is a good man, a man of God, though like everyone else his halo still tends to have a tiny flame spark up here and there. And I know that he was, is and always will be who God has planned to be my husband from the day we met until the end of days.  In three words I can tell you how I feel about him:       MY HUSBAND ROCKS!!! 

Speak up or forever wonder...

Its never a good day when a death becomes the only option to free oneself from pain, and takes the life of someone you love, endear or even just happen to have a few good little memories with. Our first reaction is to want to know the how, why and when, but even after you find out all that heart wrenching information there's still a piece of you that wonders how and why. Then sets in the heart felt sentiments to be expressed as the friend or family member of the deceased, to the deceased, to the family members and to each other as friends of both. "You were a great friend! You were the life of the party! I'll never forget the way you smiled. Prayers for the family of ... are going out"! Emotional and heartbreaking tragedies seem push from the back of our minds to the forefront of our existence a slideshow of repressed memories - of conversations and events - that included the one who is no longer here. A rolodex of dates and places - where revisiting the past - brings a smile to our lips and  tugs at our heart strings all the while we're STILL wondering how and why, and what would have made a difference. What if  the statement "You're a great friend" or "Your smile is infectious!" would have made the difference? Could that have change the course that lead to a tragic ending? What if it would have? Would you have spoken up sooner or more often? Would you have reached out even more, stretching beyond your comfort zone no matter your fear of non-reciprocation? It's not just in times of loss that we should be reminded to extend kind words, appreciation, acceptance, tolerance, compassion and most of all LOVE. These are what we're to do everyday, with each other - with those that we're close to, those that we meet in a chance encounter, and those that we've lost touch with.  Ephesians 4:2 Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other's faults because of your love.  Remember, the next time you run into someone from your past or meet your closest friend for lunch or even have that chance encounter with a stranger, your smile or kind words or even a genuine statement of appreciation could be the determining factor for that person who thought their already made choice was the only choice they had. Take the time to break our of your comfort zone, let down your walls, reconcile a friendship or relationship or express your love and adoration... Speak up or forever wonder if what you could have said would have changed the path of the person your now so gravely miss.