Surprise (Part 1)

On March 6th my husband and I will be celebrating six years of marriage.  Part of me can’t believe that six years have passed.  But, another part of me feels like we’ve been married forever.  I mean that in a good way.  We’ve reached that place in our marriage where we are totally comfortable with one another.  Not so comfortable so as to be complacent.  Comfortable enough to feel safe, protected, loved and content. 

For the past five years we’ve celebrated our anniversary by having dinner at a special place.  We always go to a place we’ve never been.  Sometimes this has taken us on day or even weekend trips out of town.  Other times we’ve discovered new or different things right here at home.  Last year we were blessed to spend the day with his entire family.  We share his parents’ anniversary so we celebrated their 60th and our 5th anniversary together with his family in a beautiful North GA mountain setting.

This year though, we’re doing something different.  I’m planning a huge surprise for him.  Really there are two surprises.  One on Friday.  Another on Saturday.  Oh, it’s not really anything all that grand.  It’s something that we’ve wanted to do, but haven’t made time to do (honey, if you’re reading this, that’s a great clue).  It’s something that will be lots of fun.  It’s something that he will enjoy.  Precious memories will be made.  It’s a huge surprise because it’s something that I know will be meaningful to him.

I am so excited about it that I just can’t stand it.  I’m dying to tell him.  I can’t wait to see the excitement in his eyes, the smile on his face.  But, I’m also enjoying watching him trying to figure it out.  He’s asked questions, speculated on the destination and even threatened not to go (not seriously of course).  See, he’s a bit leery of surprises.  He’s just a little afraid of the unknown. 

So am I.  How about you?  Do you like surprises?

I think we would all agree that there are great surprises and there are some not so great surprises.  The surprise party we gave my dad last year for his 65th birthday was fun.  The anticipation of this surprise anniversary trip is exciting.  However, the surprise speeding ticket I got on the way home from our family Thanksgiving celebration a couple of years ago was not great.  The recent surprise purchase of an entire set of new tires for a relatively new vehicle was not fun. 

I have a dear friend and mentor who says she loves walking with the Lord because He’s always surprising her.  She loves the fact that she doesn’t always know what’s around the corner.  She loves the way God reveals His plan for her life one step at a time.  That’s really hard for me.  I’m a planner.  Sometimes to the point of being obsessive.  I create lists and spreadsheets for almost every aspect of my life.  My family loves to make fun of me for this.  Of course, they aren’t laughing on Sunday afternoon when we KNOW where we’re eating lunch because I’ve got a spreadsheet for our weekly family lunch.  I really do.

Anyway, sometimes it’s frightening to anticipate the unknown.  It can be exciting and scary at the same time.  Even though life is full of surprises, both good and bad, it’s comforting to know that God is in control.  He’s promised us that if we love Him all things will work together for good (Romans 8:28).  He has a plan for our lives.  A plan to bless us not harm us (Jeremiah 29:11).  If we allow him complete control, like my friend, we can live in a state of excited anticipation knowing that what’s coming is going to be OK.

I wonder if my husband will like his anniversary surprise.

I’ll let you know.