This past weekend I had the opportunity to spend time with a friend of mine and her husband in New York. Usually when I travel out of state I have my family with me. This time I was on my own; no kids, and no hubby.
My friend and I had talked about me coming to New York back in December. I had not seen her since she had gotten married two years ago. We were both pretty excited and talked about some possible things we could do while I would be there. One of them was going to see a play or having dinner in the city. What we did wind up doing is sleeping in on Saturday, going to the Bronx to the Armory to see a young man we knew, run in a competition there and hung out at the mall. No, it doesn’t sound exciting but for this busy wife and mom it was pretty fun.
That evening we returned home and we spent time with her husband and his sister talking and just having some fun. After a while we decided to play Scrabble. Now this is where it gets pretty interesting. See, I have never, I repeat “Never” played scrabble before. My host and hostess said, “Don’t worry you will do fine.” Now I’m not the greatest speller and I was truly starting to feel like, “Where is my husband when I need him!” he’s a great speller. Well, we started this game around 1 or 2 o’clock in the morning and we were not done until 5:00am! It was that much fun. I had never worked so hard to make three and four letter words in my life!
The highlight of the game was when my friend’s husband had one tile left, the letter ‘v’. He tried to convince us in so many ways that “Vi” was a word. I challenged him on that! But he put his foot on the dictionary and said, “No you are not going to look up another word!” I had challenged a couple of his words during the course of the game, but I knew I was right about this one. The funniest part was when he not only tried to convince us that Vi was a word but Ve was one too. He kept the straightest face while he attempted to come up with some bogus definitions. It was just hilarious! I went to bed that morning cracking up! It was the best game of scrabble I could have ever had.
On my drive back home to New Jersey I began to think about what fun it would have been if my husband, Alphonso, could have come with me. He would have had a great time. He also would have pulled the ‘this is a word’ stunt I’m sure.
As I’m driving along I began to reflect on some of the married couples’ fellowships that my husband and I have attended and a few we have hosted, and this bought Hebrews 10:24-25, to mind. “Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another….” Being around other couples brings home, to me, the idea that we should not isolate ourselves within our marriages.
Fellowshipping with other couples in and outside of church has not only given me and Alphonso an opportunity to encourage others, but for them to encourage us. What joy it can bring when we get together with other couples just to have a good time. To sit, talk and share experiences with old and new friends. I remember a couple that attended one of our fellowships who originally did not want to come, (because like many couples they were experiencing some problems) and were pretty uptight in the beginning. But as the night wore on they began to loosen up and by the end of the evening they were having a great time. The praise report came the next day when I was talking to the wife and she told me that just being around other couples that night helped them and they were glad they came. What a blessing that was to hear. Who knew that a rousing game of Pictionary, Balderdash or Monopoly could make you feel good?
Over the years my husband and I have forged some really good friendships with other couples. So we’ve come to understand that it’s not always just about the fun but also about getting to know other couples and becoming friends on a deeper level.
I told my friends before I left New York that in the spring we would be having a “married couples” fellowship at my house and I would love for them to come. They agreed they would be there. So as I’m writing this I’m thinking of a date for our next couple’s fellowship. Guess what game I’ll be buying so we can play? You got it! SCRABBLE!
Be Encouraged,
Rita
I'll be back on Friday, March 19th, hope to see you then!
Saturday's Blog: Pat Betters, Part 3 of "It's Not About You"
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