View from the Foxhole

I learned so about my husband this week. Nate and I have been married a little over three months and I can honestly say everyday I spend with him I respect him even more.
Yesterday, I had a chance to hear him speak to our all-city worship service that it’s our pleasure to be apart of. What I learned is that a year ago the leader of the group asked Nate to speak and he was hit with so much spiritual warfare that he begged off days before the event. (Not like my husband the worlds most responsible person) At the time he didn’t knew it was spiritual warfare but as many of us know it hits very personally and he sunk deep into a dessert personally and with the Lord.
This year Nate was again approached to speak and reluctantly accepted, knowing his history, like clockwork our family was hit on every side by unseen forces trying to upset God’s work. We have had several issues in our extended family blow-up at the beginning of the week, me being sick to my stomach and trying to finish a book, and to top it off Nate was in a fender-bender.
The hardest part for us, being traditionally conflict averse, was not the car accident or me being sick, but the tension in our family. I haven’t seen Nate so upset since I have known him. My very laid-back husband handled himself very well in every inter-action through this tough time, but he’ll be the first to tell you his heart was in a scary place. Anger and deep emotion threatened to destroy some very old and loved relationships. Thankfully, I can say that all the situations are on the mend, me the car, and our family and that conflict has brought all of us closer to God and eachother.
Last night after Nate spoke we both felt like we had run a week long marathon and finally crossed the finish line. Nate made some wonderful points but the Lord really taught him, through all of this, that Christ dwells in the rawness of the human condition.
For him it was a tough lesson, all about why we need God’s grace to get us through the difficult times and that its by His strength and not our own.
For me, no matter how tough, I am proud to have walked through this time with Nate and our family. In my house growing up, whenever my parents would get into a knock-down drag out fight over something rather insignificant they had the presence of mind realize they were under spiritual warfare. Eventually they would simply ask “wow I wonder what God is up to?” and typically something incredible was just around the corner. I guess it shouldn’t be any surprise that Nate & I have inherited this heritage.
I am thankful for His continued commitment to God and then to our family and now that we have gone through the battle I can’t think of anyone else I would rather be in the fight with. Thanks to all for your support and prayers.