"In Sickness and In Health"

My dear husband has had a lot on him this past week or so. I have been sick for several days, my son was sick a couple of days and now my daughter has the flu! Our dear Pastor has had to do all the cooking, dishes, sweeping, laundry and nurse-maiding for the house. I've been NO help! I've pretty much done nothing but sleep for almost a week now!

We also have Pastor Neil with us who is easy "to keep" as he likes to say and like having a family member visiting (one you like), but DH has had to make sure there are plenty of groceries on hand and see to it that Pastor Neil is taken care of. When a person is in a different place there are just some things that person has to rely on others to help with no matter how self-sufficeint that individual may be otherwise.

Additionally, Pastor has still had ALL the responsibilities of being Pastor. He is still visiting, taking and making phone calls, counseling, checking on the church and the alarm system, dealing with the Pepsi guy, taking care of the mail, sending correspondence that can't wait. As much as people don't like to admit it, a church is a business and still has day-to-day business to conduct no matter what else is going on in the Pastor's life.

As I was leaving for work this morning, Pastor was sweeping up the mud that dear son had tracked in while taking out the trash he neglected to take out the night before. I leaned over toward him to kiss him good-bye and said,"Thanks for taking care of us while we've all been sick." His response? With a twinkle in his eye and a smirk on his lips, he replied, "You owe me."

I smiled and left for work, but I kept thinking about what he said.

DH is right. I do "owe" him, not because I have to "pay him back" for all he has done recently. We have taken care of each other numerous times during sickness over the past 20 years. Who's counting? We aren't keeping score to see who has taken care of the other more! I "owe" him because I made a covenant with him before God over 20 years ago where we said, "...for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health until death do us part." I "owe" him because I said I would! No matter what we face, good or bad, I will be by his side facing it with him. Sometimes I may have to carry more than "my fair share" of the load. Sometimes he may have to (like this week). But when it's all said and done, no one looks back and says, "Hey! wait a minute! You were sick one more time than I was so you have to take care of me an extra time to make it fair!" When we went into covenant with each other, we became one! Do you "keep score" with yourself?

Thank heaven God doesn't keep score either! We'd all be in the hole! DEEP!! God has made a covenant with us, His people, as well. He often refers to us as His bride in His Word. This isn't to "sissyfy" being a Christian. God knows you can't be spineless and weak and be a Christian these days... or anytime in history that I have read about! It is to show us how important and special the relationship is that God wants to have with us! There should be no relationship known to humans that is closer than that of a marraige relationship. When you marry you literally bond with that partner spiritually! What better analogy could God have used to help us understand? I love my husband with all of my heart and put no one nor anything in this world before him, but I love my God more. God should be our reason for living, worshipping, existing, doing!

I do "owe" my husband, but I "owe" my God more!