Almost 10 months ago, my wife suffered a concussion from a "pedestrian automobile accident" where she was hit by a car on a sidewalk as she was walking our dog. For the past 295 days, we have worked at rediscovering each other. Her tastes in food, her sense of humor, and many other preferences have changed since that October 22, 2014. One of the remarkable changes has been her new found love for all things gardening. She loves her flowers, vegetables and herbs. With my muscle and her passion, we have transformed our backyard into a Garden of Eden. This new interest has opened my eyes to the importance of "tending the garden" as Craig Groeschel says.
We must keep the garden watered, pruned, fertilized, harvested, weeded, and everything else that has to be done to maintain the homestead. My relationship with Paula doesn't really differ that much. I need to "tend the garden" by paying attention, caring, adjusting, and working on the relationship I have with Paula. I need to care for her- the one who is far more important to me than any flower.
For too many years, we had started to become normal. Life was hectic. The demands of work pulled us in different directions. The challenge of a teenage son frayed our patience. We were becoming just like everyone else . . . normal.
Fortunately for us, we made some important changes in 2011 to move away from normalcy. Through hard work and dedication, we have become weird once again. In fact, 2013 was the best year of our married life up until Paula's accident. Ironically, our marriage is probably better today than it was before the accident. Don't get me wrong. We have struggles every day because of the accident, but we are now at a place where we can enjoy and experience one another in an absolutely un-normal way that I am grateful for.
Since the accident, I have tried to spend more time tending our garden. In some ways it reminds me of when we first started getting to know each other. Those were good times. These are good times.
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