We're on the Same Team!

It's our 10 year anniversary today.  Can't believe it's been 10 years!  I love this stage of marriage.  I'm sure we will face a lot more obstacles if the Lord gives us another 10, but I really feel like we've reached an awesome place. I mean, besides occasionally hitting my husband over the head with a pillow when a kid wakes up in the night, we're pretty on the same page.

We've weathered the storms of figuring each other out in the first few years of marriage. We've gone through the insomnia, uncertainty and pure stress of having children. We've lived on loans and love.
And, I feel like we've moved into this state of being comfortable with each other, completely understanding one another and having an unconditional love that can only come with time. 

I was recently at my soon-to-be-cousin's bridal shower and we had to write down some marriage advice for her.  You'd think after 10 years of marriage I would have all sorts of advice, but I really hate this kind of thing. I always feel like "who am I to give advice? Wasn't it just a few days ago that I told my husband I was going to kill someone in our family if I didn't get some time to myself?"  But, I put on an "I've got it all figured out" face and participated anyway.  So, after 10 years of marriage, this is what I put:

Just Remember:

You're on the Same Team

Besides all the cliches (you know, "pray together, stay together" etc.), it was literally all I could come up with.  In our first few years of marriage (okay, it may occasionally still happen) I would suggest - yell is a strong word - to Eric things that he needed to help me with or point out things he did that bothered me.  And he would always "suggest" back, "Tam, just relax! We're on the same team!"  Leave it to a man to throw in a sports analogy...but it always made me stop and re-evaluate how I approached him about things. 

As much as I hated to admit it, he did have a point. Whenever I'm watching basketball and two guys go for the same rebound I always yell, "same team, you idiots!"  It seems so obvious to everyone but the people involved. Why do I war against the person that's working toward the same goal as me?  The ultimate goal of mirroring our marriage to look exactly like our relationship with Christ.

Now I'm kind of imagining God yelling, "Same team, you idiots!" to married couples who can't see eye to eye. So I need to stop writing before I go down that road :).

Here's to my teammate in this life. 

Happy Anniversary! 

Thanks for picking me first.