A Touching Article on Relationships
by mathe | Friday, September 12th, 2008 at 1:24 pm | Life as I See it |
These days, lasting relationships are more of the exception than the rule. It is disheartening to see friends who are brokenhearted over lost love. I would want all my friends, everyone for that matter, to never ever suffer heartache and pain and broken marriage. But then again, in the real world, that does not happen all the time.
My hubby sent the following touching article and I will be doing all of you a great injustice if I will not share it. So, here goes…
Deb Graham – Contributor
When I was a little girl, my mom liked to make breakfast food for dinner every now and then. And I remember one night in particular when she had made breakfast after a long, hard day at work.
On that evening so long ago, my mom placed a plate of eggs, sausage, and extremely burned toast in front of my dad. I remember waiting to see if anyone noticed! Yet all my dad did was reach for his toast, smile at my mom, and ask me how my day was at school.
I don’t remember what I told him that night, but I do remember watching him smear butter and jelly on that toast and eat every bite! When I got up from the table that evening, I remember hearing my mom apologize to my dad for burning the toast. And I’ll never forget what he said: “Baby, I love burned toast.”
Later that night, I went to kiss Daddy good night and I asked him if he really liked his toast burned. He wrapped me in his arms and said, “Debbie, your momma put in a hard day at work today and she’s real, tired. And besides-a little burnt toast never hurt anyone!”
In bed that night, I thought about that scene at dinner and the kindness my daddy showed my mom. To this day, it’s a cherished memory from my childhood that I’ll never forget. And it’s one that came to mind just recently when Jack and I sat down to eat dinner.
I had arrived home late as usual and decided we would have breakfast food for dinner. Some things never change, I suppose!
To my amazement, I found the ingredients I needed, and quickly began to cook eggs, turkey sausage, and buttered toast. Thinking I had things under control, I glanced through the mail for the day. It was only a few minutes later that I remembered that I had forgotten to take the toast out of the oven!
Now, had it been any other day — and had we had more than two pieces of bread in the entire house — I would have started all over. But it had been one of those days and I had just used up the last two pieces of bread. So burnt toast it was!
As I set the plate down in front of Jack, I waited for a comment about the toast. But all I got was a “Thank you!” I watched as he ate bite by bite, all the time waiting for some comment about the toast. But instead, all Jack said was, “Babe, this is great. Thanks for cooking tonight. I know you had a hard day.”
As I took a bite of my charred toast that night, I thought about my mom and dad how burnt toast hadn’t been a deal-breaker for them. And I quietly thanked God for giving me a marriage where burnt toast wasn’t a deal-breaker either!
You know, life is full of imperfect things and imperfect people. I’m not the best housekeeper or cook. And you might be surprised to find out that Jack isn’t the perfect husband! He likes to play his music too loud, he will always find a way to avoid yard work, and he watches far too many sports. Believe it or not, watching “ Golf Academy “is not my idea of a great night at home!
But somehow in the past 37 years Jack and I have learned to accept the imperfections in each other. Over time, we have stopped trying to make each other in our own mold and have learned to celebrate our differences. You might say that we’ve learned to love each other for who we really are!
For example, I like to take my time, I’m a perfectionist, and I’m even-tempered. I tend to work too much and sleep too little. Jack, on the other hand, is disciplined, studious, an early riser, and is a marketer’s dream consumer. I count pennies and Jack could care less! Where he is strong, I am weak, and vice versa.
And while you might say that Jack and I are opposites, we’re also very much alike. I can look at him and tell you what he’s thinking. I can predict his actions before he finalizes his plans. On the other hand, he knows whether I’m troubled or not the moment I enter a room.
We share the same goals. We love the same things. And we are still best friends. We’ve traveled through many valleys and enjoyed many mountaintops.
And yet, at the same time, Jack and I must work every minute of every day to make this thing called “marriage” work!
What I’ve learned over the years is that learning to accept each other’s faults – and choosing to celebrate each other’s differences – is the one of the most important keys to creating a healthy, growing, and lasting marriage relationship.
And that’s my prayer for you today. That you will learn to take the good, the bad, and the ugly parts of your married life and lay them at the feet of GOD. Because in the end, He’s the only One who will be able to give you a marriage where burnt toast isn’t a deal-breaker!
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Isn’t it a lovely piece? Before going to bed last night, my dear hubby thanked me for cooking for him all the time and I knew, it was because he read this that he remembered to appreciate my efforts. I hope you will do the same today with your significant other, or anyone important in your life, because the principle of accepting a spouse can be applied on any person we have a relationship with.
Let’s appreciate our loved ones more often, accept them for who they are – warts and all, show them that they are important.
See you next post, guys!
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That’s always liked about marriage. There’s always that other person who will complement your decisions in life in one way or another.
It’s not something that I have and I have to learn to live through it.
I enjoyed reading this. Made me realize to appreciate the people in my life–faults and all =)
Lost for words but “Thank You” is all I have for you dear, not just for posting this but for being with me through rough times though we’re millions miles away heheh