A Frantic Ride

I set out with every intention to write on a more regular basis, and I have failed epically at that. At this time I really should be in bed, but I thought it important to take some time to write.
I've been sick for the past week, a nagging cold. The past two days I've been laid up, haven't set foot outside of the apartment, and it's given me the opportunity to think, almost to the point of reaching expressiveness. I have reached a concussion, one which I've always known in the back of my mind, but it is this... I am blessed.
For those of you how don't know, this coming Wednesday Beth and I will have been married for 5 months. Everything looked peachy before the wedding, we had a place to live, plans for the future, talked about getting a house this summer, things of that nature. Our fantasy world fell apart three days after our wedding, when Beth got sick on our honeymoon, plagued with the stomach flu. Before we even made it home, I had a daunting cough, that lasted for weeks. The day after we got back in Minnesota, I found out I was losing my job, and Beth had yet to find work. To add insult to injury, I got the stomach flu a week later.
At first, the culmination of all these things was overwhelming to say the least. There were a few sorrowful nights, hours of angst, tears and anguish, and we began to build ourselves back up again.
Apartment living began growing onerous. Our upstairs neighbors are fickle about our moderate sound levels during the day, and throw loud parties at night. The water was constantly being shut off and other maintenance impeded daily tasks, not to mention the hallways typically smelling of marijuana. In all this, they decided to raise our rent, and on an already restricted budget, we decided it was best to let our lease run out and move.
While apartment hunting is far from my favorite things to do, we did manage to find one place that was small enough that we could get to know our neighbors, and had tenants and landlords that really emphasized the building of a community. Once again, things dematerialized in front of us, as a school loan that we hoped would be deferred, we now know will not. At this point, living on our own is practically unaffordable.
I'm sure to many of you, this looks more like we are cursed then we are blessed, and maybe it is because you don't have the PR training I have. We decided to use our extra free time to do something Beth always wanted to do, and go on a mission trip. Even that seemed tedious, and was nearly jeopardized at one point. If it were not for the support of a few good friends, that may not have happened either. Thankfully, we did have those people to encourage us, and we leave in one week. Even though we haven't even left yet, I can tell that we are going to play very important roles on this trip.
While Beth has found work, me still being unemployed has given me time to focus on school work, and to relieve some of the stress from working, finals, and getting married all during the holidays. Most importantly, it allowed me to go on a trip with our church youth group, and through that, I'm getting to know some amazing young men and help them and guide them in their faith.
Additionally, I've been blessed with family, and married into a multitude of siblings and nephews (only one niece) and my sister gave me one on my side to help even the gap a little. The Maas family is still winning 8 to 1 though.
These struggles have helped shape and strengthen my marriage in ways I could not even imagine. It has forced Beth and I to be open with on another in ways I never would have thought possible. We have began praying together on a nightly basis, and I can feel the closeness through it. We've demonstrated our flexibility as we transferred to Beth being a housewife to me being, what I call, a trophy husband. While I know, will probably get worse before they get better, I have full confidence that we can face things together.
As far as housing goes, we were fortunate enough to be able to move back into the house I was living in before. The rent will be cheaper, but we will share a house with 3 guys. Thankfully, Beth is a brave woman and is willing to take on that challenge. Hopefully, the cheaper rent will give us an the chance to catch up and save some before we find our own place. I am already excited for the move, which is funny because a year ago, I was excited to move out to my own place. I'm already planning on trying to do a guys night with my youth kids.
Finally, the whole experience has deepened my faith in God. Through it all, I know He will never give us more than we can handle. I also know that are plans are always second to His, and if He wants something, He's going to get it. At the same time, I know there is a certain amount of flexibility with where ever we end up, as long as we're looking to do His work. We've been given lessons on learning how to love people, even when they make it easy not to. Also, I've been given clarity on what our role should be in the church, more so than I've ever had in the past, and hopefully, I'll be able to write about that in more detail sooner than later (I'm aiming for after our trip and not next year sometime).
My last note, before I head off to bed (I need to be up in 7 hours). Beth and I were graciously given a certificate to attend a Marriage retreat as a wedding present. While much of it was stuff that appeared to be common sense things to us, there was one thing that really stuck with us. One of the speakers said that the marriages that have the most potential will be the ones that are attacked the hardest. If these past five months are any indication, Beth and I will be moving mountains.
Goodnight.

The One,
The Only,
The Blessed,
Jon