What's in a voice...

Wow...what a crazy time these last 3 weeks have been. I can honestly say, that being on the home front side of a mission trip has been one of the hardest things I have EVER done!!!

Joel and I have a really great marriage, not perfect by any means but certainly a great marriage in my opinion. We have had are ups and we have more than our share of downs but through it all instead of allowing circumstances to pull us apart - we have allowed everything to draw us closer to one another. From the bottom of my heart I can say that we are one flesh...

This time with him in Africa and me here in Texas has shown me a lot about my self, my walk with the Lord, my relationship with Joel, and my relationship with my children. I have seen a lot that I am proud of in my life and well, I have seen a whole lot that I am not so proud of - yet through it all I have discovered the ONE thing that I miss the most....

The sound of my hubby's voice....I haven't actually verbally talked to Joel since Sept 11 - the day he left. In fact, I will not verbally talk with him until Sept 28 - the day he comes home. That's a LONG time to go without talking to the one person that you share EVERYTHING with! Ha ha! More than just missing his voice though - I have reflected on the fact that God certainly created us to be RELATIONAL! Not just a quick text message here and there (which has been our only means of communication for the past 15 days) but to have face to face verbal interacting relationships. I do not believe that you can truly connect through just an e-mail or a text...you need to TALK.

Today I was thinking to myself of all the things I needed to share with Joel - things about the kids, things about the house and bills, things about family, things about church and ministry...so very much!!! However, just as quickly - something else came to mind...

Just as much as I miss Joel and my daily interaction and relationship with him - my Heavenly Father also misses me. He longs for me to sit and just talk to Him about my day, my life, my highs, my lows. He wants to hear my voice and He longs for me to stop long enough to hear His...
Yet, unlike Joel where I have honestly had no way to communicate with him verbally - my Father is there EVERY day, He patiently sits and waits wondering if today I will have enough time to talk with Him and to hear from Him...He wants a strong relationship with Him...where have I been?

What's in a voice? A relationship....I believe that if we would stop and take time to talk and listen to the Lord our relationship would be so strong that it would be AMAZING. In the same way - I believe that we need to take time and truly interact with those we love and care about - ESPECIALLY our spouses. Marriages are falling apart literally all around us - both outside and inside the church. From what I can see...a common theme is that many times they have stopped communicating and interacting with one another. They haven't taken time to enjoy the sound of each others voice.

With that in mind - I plan on working on my communication both with my Father and with my hubby!!! Joel better be ready for a LONG coke date (I don't do coffee but Dr. Pepper is awesome and affordable) :-)