Just Balance with Brittany: Balancing falling deeper for my husband- Marriage Edition Part II

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Hi Triple B's-

Last week was nothing short of amazing with my co-blog/caster Denetria Shirley! The outpouring of comments and connections was beyond anything that we actually could have imagined. I hope that this just affirms for her that she has something to say and that folks are excited to listen. (Go ahead and start that podcast sis!) And with that....on to this week's blog!

🖤 One of my first blog-cast was with my favorite person, my husband Chad! We talked about how we are working to create balance within our marriage and relationship. We are definitely still on that journey, but this week's post is I guess you can call it an homage to my husband. This past weekend, we celebrated six years of being married. Chad and I have been together for the last eleven years 1️⃣1️⃣, and even through it all I can honestly say that we literally have just gotten better with time.

John Legend has a new album out and one of the songs on his record is entitled "I Don't Love you Like I used to". The title of course is a lot misleading, but I instantly fell in love with the song upon first listen. 🎵 In the song he talks about the fact that he doesn't love her like he used- life has happened, they have grown, they have changed, they have evolved, they have had their ups and their downs, and even with all of these things he just loves her so much more now. When I think about the journey that Chad and I have taken, this song was the total sum of my heart in this moment. Man have we grown, changed, evolved, had some amazing ups and some terrible downs, but we have decided to continue to choose each other every day that we wake up.

When people ask me how are you and Chad doing, I always reply with "well, I still like him". After that response settles, folks normally kind of look at me weird. I mean I guess it's odd to some that I say "I still like him". It's not odd to me at all. I will always love Chad, I mean he gave me the two most precious gifts that I own and we have built an amazing life together. But the reality is if I have to be honest, I just really LIKE him. Chad has been one of my best friends for the last 11 years. So naturally because I view him as my closest friend, I like him. When I don't like him anymore, then I'll worry. He makes me laugh, like we just laugh y'all. He gets me, he just lets me be. He has seen me at my best and at my worst, and has never judged me, but has always been there for me. With Chad, it's easy, it's always been easy and that's why falling deeper in love with him just comes natural and honestly doesn't take a whole lot of balance.

In a time where marriage is under attack and seems to be less and less valued, falling deeper in love with my husband brings me so much joy. No we don't always get it right 100% of the time, but we always keep trying. Over the last several years in the media we continue to see marriages and relationships fall apart. Honestly, it's disheartening and can be down right discouraging. In these times, I go back to some of my favorite verses concerning marriage. Genesis 2:18-22 highlights God's initial thoughts about marriage- "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him". Ephesians 5:33 highlights love and respect in marriage- "However, let each one of you love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband". 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 highlights the beauty of love- "Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things" (🥲🥲🥲). Marriage for Chad and I is about two imperfect people continuing to commit each and every day to putting in the work necessary for a lasting love.

This week, I'm balancing falling deeper and deeper for my husband. He's an amazing man, husband, and father. I watch him day in and day out work to make a better life for his family. He loves me to depths far beyond anything that I could have imagined and makes it easier to fall deeper and deeper for him. Watching Chad be a father has been the greatest joy- the way that he approaches fatherhood and takes care of his children makes it just that much easier to fall deeper and deeper for him. Balancing falling deeper and deeper for my husband looks like showing up, going above and beyond, pushing myself to do a little bit more to check-in with him- to check on his well being. Falling deeper and deeper for Chad this week looks like letting him watch wrestling (with no complaints), fixing a bowl of soup since he's under the weather, driving the kids around so he can just have some alone time, preparing his lunch for work, checking in with him one more time before bed, making him smile, but most of all being his safe place.

“If I could give you one thing in life, I would give you the ability to see yourself through my eyes, only then would you realize how special you are to me.”

As always, words are what I have for you,

~Brittany