It is January! And for the few Buccaneer fans, you all know it was a huge disappointment not to make it to the playoffs. But after six months of football being our life 24/7, our world comes to a sudden halt. All of my friends in the NFL count down the days to the “off -season” (the three months players receive for a little bit of R&R). Many players go back home, take big vacations, do some personal training, spend time with their families, and catch up with the real world.
Sounds nice, right? Well, to be honest, I HATE the off-season. Most women would love to have three months off with their husbands with no obligations, no schedules, and no worries. But a lot of time is sometimes too much time. I am a girl who lives by daily routine. I wake up, make a cup of coffee, have my devotions, eat breakfast, make the bed, do some work, etc. But now for three months, the routine I have come to love is thrown out the window. Corey comes home and decides he wants to rearrange some furniture or hang an ugly football picture over my dining room table or sleep in until 10 or go fishing everyday all day or sit on the computer for five hours (past examples that we can laugh about now).
I might laugh about those things now, but for the past two off-seasons, Corey and I have had some serious issues. There were times when I just didn’t think I could keep going. Three months is a lot of down time to be petty. And Satan loves to work during the down time. In the past we have allowed Satan to win some battles, and we allowed damage to be done. And that can’t and will not happen again!
So, as these three months start, I am determined not to allow the past to repeat itself. We both sat down and talked about how we can make this off-season different from the others. One thing we have decided to do is read the book and workbook, “Love & Respect,” by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs. It has been sitting on our bookshelf for three years collecting dust, so we figured it would be a good time to open it up. I have only heard amazing things about it, and we are both excited. If you have any other fun suggestions for the two of us, I am all ears!
The word “off-season,” worries me, because it represents some very dark days for Corey and I. But at the end of the day, I have to make a choice for me, for my husband, and for our marriage. I have to make the choice not to let Satan inside the walls of this marriage. I have to make the choice not to get mad over the little things. I have to make the choice to communicate properly. I have to make the choice to use the right tone of voice. I have to make the choice to put Corey’s needs before my own. I have to make the choice to love Corey every day of my life. And I CHOOSE to do so, because it honors the Lord.
Picture taken by Adam Barnes