The Love Dare - Day 28

The Falls is open!  That makes for a lot of exhilaration in our house, and it's a nice psychological break from the intense preparations to get it up and going.  It's been especially quiet around the house these last couple of weeks with Karen getting her concession stand staffed, cleaned, stocked, and ready to go.  The quietness has given me a lot of time to ponder how I ought to respond to our unusual schedule during this time period.  I've thought about the options.  I could complain that this launch has taken too much of Karen's time for these last couple of weeks, but Philippians 2:4 says "do all things without grumbling or complaining," so that isn't an option I want to give in to.  Or I could mope about the restricted freedom we've had and will have for another week or so.  But moping seems like a passive form of complaining, so that's not a good option, either.  I suppose I could tough it out, determine to endure today, and spend my time dreaming about future days when Karen and I will have more discretionary time.  But my father-in-law used to say, "Don't wish your life away," which might have been an echo of Ecclesiastes 5:7, which warns about the "emptiness" of a life of excessive dreaming, which I take to be the kind of dreaming that prevents us from living today!    

So a better option for me, especially today, is to exercise the Love Dare, especially as it's described in Romans 12:15, which says, "rejoice with those who rejoice."  That command fleshes out an earlier command to "be devoted to one another." (Romans 12:10).  (I know, I've used this verse before in this Love Dare, but it's become one of my favorites for defining the relationship we're supposed to have with fellow believers, and it certainly can be applied to husbands and wives.  And besides, who says we can't obey the same verse more than once?  We would probably all benefit if we each took one verse and applied it 40 days in a row!)  Being devoted to one another doesn't leave room for complaining, moping, or excessive daydreaming.  What could I possibly gain from these things?  Rejoicing with my wife sure sounds like a lot more fun!