Caught Hugging in the Kitchen

This morning you might have caught someone hugging in our kitchen. 

That would have been me and my husband. 

You might also have caught us kissing in a small park six days ago after our De Smet outing, with Jonathan noticing our shadow and deciding to get a photo of it. 

(Can you believe it was actually his idea?)

Hugging and unashamed.

Kissing and unashamed.

Long hugs and kisses, and not a bit ashamed of it.

Grateful, rather. 

"I'm thankful for you," I told him, thinking of the long hours he spent last night after being deluged with no less than three things needing to be fixed--the frozen computer, the non-working air conditioner at Lakota Chapel, and the broken down Honda.

"Can I go with you?" I had asked, as he headed off to the church and our broken down vehicle Crystal had driven to the care center where she had a driving job.

So I had jumped into the truck, him holding the door while I tried to get past the muddy step. And we had ridden off together down the driveway, stopping for a picture of the rainbow.  

"When Anna touches electronics," Jonathan drawled, "they quit working. And when Crystal touches a vehicle, it breaks down."

He said this with an invisible twinkle, of course, because, help us alive, it's an exaggeration. But I do struggle with computers, and Crystal has been using our old van for driving Amish a few times and the vehicles are breaking down with this or that issue just because they are old. 

I remembered that we could be grateful that the serpentine belt in the Honda had not stripped off last weekend when we were hours away, but happened only one mile away.

Jonathan couldn't fix the Honda problem last night, so he moved on to the air conditioner problem, and Crystal and I talked to each other about how Jonathan has to fix so many things, and how grateful we are for our "fix-it" man. 

He deserves to always have supper ready on time-every single day. I told Crystal so.

Because I teach my daughters how to treat their future husbands.

You treat them with love and respect, and you have suppers ready and the table set on time for them when they arrive home from work.

(I love to hear my men come in the door like they did last night saying, "Mm! Something smells good!")

This morning I thought of how Jonathan worked till past 10:00 to find the problem with the air conditioner, discovering finally that mice had stripped wiring bare somewhere and it was shorting. 

It's raining again outside now, raining tears for all the sorrows and pain that unhappy couples face in the world,

but in the middle of it all, rainbows still exist.

Rainbows like the one we went to look for last night as the sun shone through our kitchen window.

A double rainbow. 

Couples are still being true to each other, no matter what.

Husbands are still loving their wives, and wives are choosing to respect and submit to their own (not someone else's) husband.

Couples choosing to forgive one another on an ongoing basis and live in love and open communication.

Children are growing up and marrying well in the Lord. 

Babies are being conceived, and loved, and born, and loved more.

A daughter and son-in-law send photos of our darling granddaughter several times a week--

the sweet child with huge, bright eyes and such a bald head!

A rainbow in the desert of the world.