For Nate's Introduction to Literature class, he selected "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" to analyze for a poetry paper. He certainly has not been looking forward to reading poetry and trying to analyze it, and flipping through the poetry book I realized that I didn't think poetry was all the enjoyable either.
I read Robert Frost's poem, and we were talking about it when I realized we had read the same poem but weren't reading it in the same way.
When I saw, "The woods were lovely, dark and deep, But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep," I saw someone who couldn't stay in the beautiful snowy woods much longer because he had promised his family he'd be home and still had a ways to go.
Nate saw someone on his way to commit suicide.
What?
Well, when he started explaining the way he was reading the poem, I totally understood his analyzation. And he saw how I was reading it.
We laughed and laughed about how I could see something so beautiful and positive while he could read the same thing and see something dark and negative.
I guess poetry can be a little more fun and interesting than we thought.
Saturday, November 19, 2016
Sunday, November 6, 2016
I wasn't listening...
I texted my husband this morning and asked him if he wanted to participate at a prayer vigil at church.
He texted back that he had a funeral to attend that day. I looked at my phone, confused. I knew he had a funeral to attend on Monday. He must be mixing up the days, I thought. So I texted back, "Isn't that on Monday?"
"Really?" was the response.
Apparently he had explained everything to me but I was sitting on my phone when it happened, and I guess I wasn't really listening.
Ouch. My bad.
This isn't the first time this has happened, and I realized I really need to be more intentional about listening to what my husband is saying. That should be something that comes natural, but I do tend to nod my head and say "OK" when I'm not really paying that close of attention, and with my great memory (not) it makes it even worse.
However, as I started thinking about this problem, I started to think that maybe it's a blessing in disguise to mess up like this every once in a while, although I'm thankful that I have a husband who is forgiving and doesn't hold something like this against me. I'm thankful for mistakes like this because they do make me see some of my issues and become more intentional. I need reminders like that to make sure I'm on my game as a wife.
A lot of the time, women laugh when their husbands don't remember something they told them. "Men..." And I must admit I've had that conversation before about things I say to my husband when he's watching TV or looking at his phone. We have to make sure that we're not making fun of our spouses for things that we do right back though. Like the Bible says, we can't point out the speck in someone else's eye because of the plank in our own.
One final thought, Nate is gone because he's attending two law enforcement funerals, for the two police officers that were murdered in the Des Moines area last week. I'm proud that he takes the time to attend these funerals, and we all have to pray for this horrific tragedy and the families and friends of these fallen heroes.
Lord, please reach this nation. Please help us to see our issues and to find ways to work them, to come back to you. Please be with these law enforcement families that have lost their loved ones. Give them peace and comfort in this horrible time of tragedy. Please protect our officers from the evil that is seeking them out every day. Give them strength and courage and bravery and awareness. Thank you for the heroism that these men and women supply every day. In Jesus' name, amen.
He texted back that he had a funeral to attend that day. I looked at my phone, confused. I knew he had a funeral to attend on Monday. He must be mixing up the days, I thought. So I texted back, "Isn't that on Monday?"
"Really?" was the response.
Apparently he had explained everything to me but I was sitting on my phone when it happened, and I guess I wasn't really listening.
Ouch. My bad.
This isn't the first time this has happened, and I realized I really need to be more intentional about listening to what my husband is saying. That should be something that comes natural, but I do tend to nod my head and say "OK" when I'm not really paying that close of attention, and with my great memory (not) it makes it even worse.
However, as I started thinking about this problem, I started to think that maybe it's a blessing in disguise to mess up like this every once in a while, although I'm thankful that I have a husband who is forgiving and doesn't hold something like this against me. I'm thankful for mistakes like this because they do make me see some of my issues and become more intentional. I need reminders like that to make sure I'm on my game as a wife.
A lot of the time, women laugh when their husbands don't remember something they told them. "Men..." And I must admit I've had that conversation before about things I say to my husband when he's watching TV or looking at his phone. We have to make sure that we're not making fun of our spouses for things that we do right back though. Like the Bible says, we can't point out the speck in someone else's eye because of the plank in our own.
One final thought, Nate is gone because he's attending two law enforcement funerals, for the two police officers that were murdered in the Des Moines area last week. I'm proud that he takes the time to attend these funerals, and we all have to pray for this horrific tragedy and the families and friends of these fallen heroes.
Lord, please reach this nation. Please help us to see our issues and to find ways to work them, to come back to you. Please be with these law enforcement families that have lost their loved ones. Give them peace and comfort in this horrible time of tragedy. Please protect our officers from the evil that is seeking them out every day. Give them strength and courage and bravery and awareness. Thank you for the heroism that these men and women supply every day. In Jesus' name, amen.
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