Friday, October 17, 2008

Sometimes, It's as Simple as Asking

Kansas Dad and I have been married for over ten years now. I remember when ten years seemed an age and yet now I feel we've barely begun. (That's a good thing; I'm so excited about our future together!) My husband can still surprise me. For example, I always knew he enjoyed flipping through home maintenance books. I never imagined he would attempt a massive resuscitation of our water softener (saving potentially thousands of dollars, but certainly hundreds). In fact, he's tackled almost every single one of the tips in this post over at The Simple Dollar.

A few months ago, Kansas Dad mentioned that he really only likes strawberry and raspberry yogurt. What? Really? Ten years and he never mentioned that? I eat yogurt because it's good for me, not because I particularly like it. When I do eat yogurt, I like a little variety -- mostly berries, but different ones. So at the grocery store, I was picking a few of these and some of those, a variety.

Well, once I knew what he liked, it was easy to accommodate his request. Now our fridge is stocked almost exclusively with strawberry and raspberry yogurt. (Kansas Dad has been doing most of the grocery shopping recently, with my list in hand, and has been choosing variety for my sake. How sweet is that?)

A few weeks later, Kansas Dad remarked, "It's so nice to reach into the fridge and always pull out a yogurt I like."

Since then I've been struck a number of times by how easily we could have the desires of our heart if we just opened our mouths and asked. If you think about it, it's an obvious concept that applies to every aspect of marriage. (Yes, every aspect of marriage. Your spouse cannot read your mind.)

I wonder if it would also apply in our prayer lives. Of course, God knows exactly what we're thinking and dreaming and hoping...but perhaps sometimes he's waiting for us to ask.