Today centered around banquets in homes all across the country, people are giving thanks. There are many things that people are thankful for. Many of them are your traditional things to be thankful for--for family, for friends or for good health. Some are nontraditional such as being thankful for good grades or that the Kansas City Chiefs have actually won three games this year!! I am thankful for those things in the first category but there is something in the second group that I am thankful for. You see, I am thankful for my mistakes.
I've always been grateful for everything in my past--good and bad. I figure that without everything going the way they have I would not be where I am today. I really started thinking about it after reading Patrick Madrid's blog about why you parents should not let their kids date non-catholics. There was also a follow up about dating non-catholics by Lisa Hendley at Faith & Family Live.
Those posts got me to thinking about how Abby and I got to where we are today. Many, including Mr. Madrid, would say that Abby and I made many mistakes in our relationship. She was not catholic. We had only been dating about a month when we moved in with each other. (Note: Mom--if you are reading this close your ears) While we were living together we did things that people who live together do prior to getting married. (you can open your ears now, Mom) We got married in a courthouse by a judge. We practiced birth control. The list, for some, goes on and on and on. While I would not recommend to anyone that you follow this route to a long lasting relationship, it has worked out amazingly for Abby and I. So if these are mistakes then I have to be thankful for my mistakes.
Obviously, there are some mistakes in my life that I wish I had not done. Heck, about 138 times a day I make mistakes that don't anyone any good. Although, I can still better myself by learning from many of those mistakes to make myself better. That's what the whole examination of conscience is all about--learning from your mistakes.
Abby and I followed a path that I cannot really recommend following. There have been highs and lows. There have been pitfalls. Looking to where we are today though, I cannot look at our relationship and see where we have come from and not see the hand of God at work. We balance each other. We are like two puzzle pieces who fit together perfectly. We are . . . one flesh.
So thank-you, Lord, for my mistakes. Help me to learn from them when they do occur so I do not make them again
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Jamie, I was so touched by your comments! As another someone who dated -- and married -- a non Catholic, I hear what you are saying. I have learned so much about my faith from knowing and loving my husband, and from journeying with him on his own spiritual walk.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your take on my post. Many blessings to your family this Thanksgiving! Lisa
Hi Jamie, just stumbled upon you through Feel My Love blog.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post. I, too, am thankful for my transgressions, for without them, I might never have seen how great the Grace of God has been, is and always will be.
I am a cradle CAtholic who married another cradle Catholic and we still had many things to learn and much forgiveness needed.
God bless you!