Fitness, Fellowship, Faith

Day: October 28, 2019

Day 17: Love Promotes Intimacy

You can be close to a good friend you’ve known since childhood or college days.  You can be close to a sibling, your parents, or a cousin who’s about your same age.  But nothing rivals the closeness that’s experienced between a husband and wife. Marriage is the most intimate of all human relationships.

That’s why we need it so much.  Each of us comes into life with an inborn hunger to be known, love, and accepted.  We want people to know your name, to recognize us when they see us, and to value who we are. The prospect of sharing our home with another person who knows us down to the most intimate detail is part of the deep pleasure of marriage.

Yet this great blessing is also the site of its greatest danger. Someone who knows us this intimately can either love us at a depth we never imagined, or can wound us in ways we may never fully recover from.  It’s both the fire and the fear of marriage.

Which of these are you experiencing the most in your home right now?  Are the secrets your spouse knows about you reasons for shame, or reason for drawing you closer?  If your spouse were to answer this same question, would they say you make them feel safe, or scared?

If home is not considered a place of safety, you will both be tempted to seek it somewhere else.  Perhaps you might look to another person initiating a relationship that either flirts with adultery or actually enters in.  You may look for comfort in work or outside hobbies, something that partially shields you from intimacy but also keeps you around people who respect and accept you.

Your mate should not feel pressured to be perfect in order to receive your approval.  They should not walk on eggshells in the very place where they ought to feel the most comfortable in their bare feet.  The Bible says, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18).  The atmosphere in your marriage should be one of freedom.  Like Adam and Eve in the garden, your closeness should only intensify your intimacy.  Being “naked” and “not ashamed” (Genesis 2:25) should exist in the same sentence, right in your marriage – physically and emotionally.

Admittedly, this is tender territory.  Marriage has unloaded another person’s baggage into your life, and yours into theirs. Both of you have reason to feel embarrassed that this much has been revealed about you to another living soul.  But this is your opportunity to wrap all this private information about them in the protective embrace of your love, and promise to be the one who can best help him or her deal with it.

Some of these secrets may need correcting.  Therefore, you can be an agent of healing and repair – not by lecturing, not by criticizing, but by listening in love and offering support.

Some of these secrets just need to be accepted.  They are part of this person’s make-up and history.  And though these issues may not be very pleasant to deal with, they will always require a gentle touch.

In either case, you and you alone wield the power either to reject your spouse because of this or to welcome them in – warts and all.  They will either know they’re in a place of safety where they are free to make mistakes, or they will recoil into themselves and be lost to you, perhaps forever.  Loving them well should be your life’s work.

Think of it this way.  No one knows you better than God does, the One who made you.  The writer of Psalm 139 was right when he said, “You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar.  You scrutinize my path and my lying down, and are intimately acquainted with all my ways. Even before there is a word on my tongue, behold, O Lord, You know it all” (Psalm 139:2-4).

And yet God, who knows secrets about us that we even hide from ourselves, loves us at a depth we cannot begin to fathom.  How much more should we – as imperfect people – reach out to our spouse in grace and understanding, accepting them for who they are and assuring them that their secrets are safe with us?

This may be an area where you’ve really failed in the past. If so, don’t expect your mate to immediately give you wide-open access to their heart.  You must begin to rebuild trust.  Jesus Himself is described as One who doesn’t barge into people’s lives but who stands at the door and knocks.  “If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and I will dine with him, and he with Me” (Revelation 3:20).

The reality of intimacy always takes time to develop, especially after being compromised.  But your commitment to re-establishing it can happen today – for anyone willing to take the dare.

 

He who covers over an offense promotes love, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.

– Proverbs 17:9 NIV

Today’s Dare

 

Determine to guard your mate’s secrets (unless they are dangerous to them or to you) and to pray for them.  Talk with your spouse, and resolve to demonstrate love in spite of these issues.  Really listen to them when they share personal thoughts and struggles with you.  Make them feel safe.

Saturday at the Yank

With many run events happening over weekend, YHC wasn’t sure how many to expect Saturday morning, but we had a good group show ready to get better.  Start with 10 burpees.  Virus comes in hot,asks how many was was called.  Says he has to make up 6.  Everybody got six more.

Mosey around corner behind Sammy’s and end up at corner of park facing up hill at Myrtle Street.  One of my favorites, myrtle suicides.  10 big boys at the start, run to first utility pole on left and do 10 merkins.  Back to start for 10 big boys.  Go to 2nd pole for 10 merkins.  Back to start.  You get the picture.  11 poles total .  This was pretty tough, good work men.

Stay at top after last pole.  Go to wall at First Baptist for Derkin position hip slippers, step ups each leg, Derwin’s and dips.  10 reps of each. Rinse repeat 15 then 20.

Go to parking lot behind school for 11’s.  Tiger squats and mike Tyson’s.  Mosey back to start for 25 American hammers and 25 flutters, both IC

Time.  Get pledge at the Yank.

Announcements, 40 day challenge coming up and 40 day love challenge ongoing.

Took us out with prayer

Always an honor

Tiger

HIPAA’s PainLab

YHC was doing the 9-11 Memorial Stair Climb this day.

Thankfully, HIPAA stepped up to Q.

They looked like they were working hard when we met up to clown car to the event.

If you want to know what they did, you shoulda been there.

Pushing Power @ Neverland

YHC has been on a plateau for about 6-7 weeks now. Inspired by Defib’s upcoming challenge, the PAX running halfs, and the Pax tackling the Tuna, YHC decided today we would up the cardio at Neverland.

YHC arrived in Neverland to find Dirt off doing EC and many regulars sitting snug in their vehicles. While stretching, Wet Nutz indicated he hoped to have at least one FNG.

Alas 0530 hit, with no FNG, so only the abbreviated disclaimer was provided…

Pledge.

Warm-up:
5 Burpees OYO

The real work:
Mosey to ramp behind the soon-to-be Planet Fitness.
Bear Crawl the ramp and then do 30 IW single count.
Repeat.
Somewhere in here, YHC was informed the FNG had in-fact appeared and a more formal introduction to F3 was given by the PAX that had seen him and brought him along. (Thanks to all involved)

Mosey back around the building, down to Union Rd and over to Fidelity Bank.
20 Merkins, Lap around the building and then 20 CDDs
Repeat, but this time go around the island behind the bank too.

Mosey on down Union to Rivermont Dr. with instructions to stop at the 4-way stop. I guess one homeowner is not used to runners in the gloom and nearly took a few of the PAX backing out of their driveway. (Easy Rider almost needed to be renamed Trunk Rider.)
Perform squats while waiting on the six. Once all were present…
20 Squats

Mosey down Valleywood, past maintenance shack and on toward the concession stand, stopping at a set of bleachers.
20 Calf Raises – Feet shoulder width.
20 Calf Raises – Feet wide
20 Calf Raises – Feet together

Mosey to picnic shelter.
20 dips
Run around 3rd island
20 step-ups each leg.

Many PAX expected a repeato, but Outhouse reminded YHC of some toys found during The Sammich, so let’s mosey to the entrance of the Park, switching to a nur about 1/2 way.
30 flutters single count.

Mosey back to the shopping center.
Partner-up with P1 pickup a sandbag holding the temporary fence.
While P1 carries sandbag to other end of parking lot and back, P2 perform SSH.
Flapjack.
Repeat.

Once the sandbags were back close to how we found them, mosey back to Snoballs.

Easy Rider led flutters while YHC retrieved my phone.

To put the cherry on this, 5 Burpees, run around the building (longest way) and 5 more burpees.

YHC called it about 90 sec early to give time for the FNG…

Welcome FNG Trey Pruitt, now known as Tin Cup.

Announcements:
Defib’s 40/50 Challenge starts Friday. (2250 calories in, post 40 of 50 days)
Gump has The Labyrinth on Wed – Halloween themed.
Wet Nutz has The Goat on Halloween.
Site Q change at Downtown on Friday.
Dark Helmet is speaking at Rotary on Thursday – Let Sargento or Stroganoff know if you plan on attending.

YHC took us out.

Moleskin:
Thanks to all the posted this morning. Thanks especially to the PAX that paced with Tin Cup.

I really appreciate the push, encouragement, and support given. I wouldn’t be where I am at from where I was without all of you.

Watts Up powering down.

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