Behind the Shower Curtain

I was reading this blog post and it reminded me of my own pre-wedding trauma and I just had to write about it. It was 1998 and I was getting ready for one of the most exciting time in the pre-wedding planning — registering for all of the things that will ensure a great start to marriage which are blenders, towels, and silverware, right? I was just beginning to get excited about decorating our royal palace, which took the form of a 1960’s rental trailer for $350/month, when we began the registry process at WalMart. Now my fiancé and I were registering at a time before the cool little scanners existed. We had to write down the 14 billion SKU codes for everything. So there we were at the silverware, 984857650-5959-4758598 yes! Check, got that. Next on to the bath towels, perfect 00696838306-85846579430 yes, beautiful. On to the shower curtains . . . . pause.

Apparently, my fiancé had an opinion. Up to this point, he had been completely compliant and mostly silent. But now he dared to voice his opinion — he did not like the purple and green ivy shower curtain that I had picked! Rather, he preferred a nice, neutral brown shower curtain. He did not seem to understand that purple and green were among my favorite colors and that by disagreeing, he had squashed my “knight-in-shining armor” opinion of him, not to mention the fact that I thought that everything in life was supposed to revolve around me and my desires. After all, I was the decorator. Who was he??  Only the man who took out the trash and fixed cars like my daddy did.

As you can probably imagine, it was not pretty. I stomped out of the store with my list of 50 registered SKU numbers and climbed into my Mustang (that my daddy bought for me) as the poor man tried to make sense of what had just occurred. I could not even imagine whatever possessed this perfectly compliant, husband-to-be to differ in his opinion. I wanted to teach him a lesson. Neither of us was going to get what we wanted. So, I placed my finger onto the electric window button, slid the window down, and out the registry went! And in came reality.

We have had more than a few troubles in our 13 years of marriage. But we have also had many opportunities to learn and to grow. The fact is, we made a covenant on our wedding day to stick by the other person, regardless of what the other one does or acts like. God is the same way. We may be stubborn, foolish and downright ugly at times, but He is going to stick with us like glue. In Jeremiah 31:3, God tells the people of Israel

“I have loved you with an everlasting love;
I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.

His love does not quickly fade and you can see that time and time again in the Old Testament. The Israelites would act like fools, but God would take them back and reorient them. He loved them and He loves us just the same. Marriage is not a contract that can be broken if someone doesn’t “do their part” or live up to your expectatinos. It is an unconditional covenant. And God is faithful to His covenant to us. No matter how ridiculous we act, He is going to pull us back to Him. That is His character and we can count on it.

I have thought back to the day of the shower curtain quite often. I am so thankful that both my husband and my God love me so much that they did not leave me in WalMart that day. Feel free to pass this story on to young couples who are preparing for marriage and remind them to thank God for scanners and God’s amazing love, as “the behind the shower curtain view” will be revealed day after day in their marriage covenants.

2 Responses to Behind the Shower Curtain
  1. Deb
    October 31, 2011 | 9:47 am

    Desiree, I loved this. What a great application.I think we’ve all had those days when we are thankful to have not been left behind in a Wal Mart aisle. God is soooo God! And patient husbands and husbands-to-be are huge blessings!

  2. Kimberly
    November 6, 2011 | 11:22 pm

    I, too, am one who is SO thankful for the love and patience of God AND of my man! 🙂 Thanks for sharing!