A Fresh, New Start(er) #thewifelife

For most people, a wedding day and a honeymoon week are days, times, experiences, and memories-made that will never be forgotten. For me, I became lucky enough to not only marry the world’s most wonderful man, have a beautiful wedding day, a wonderful honeymoon, and memories made to last an entire lifetime; but I also got to be gifted with the stark reality of “real life” on the very day our official “honeymoon” was over, so much that I was literally in need of a fresh, new start(er).

Allow me to explain.

Jeff and I enjoyed quite the wonderful week, following our impeccably- smooth-going wedding day, of official honeymooning in the quiet, nature-esque area known as Stone Mountain, Georgia. Very quickly, Jeff and I became very fond of the quiet and secluded characteristics of our resort (so much that Jeff made a song of it… another story, another time), yet we also enjoyed its proximity to the not-so-quiet, “the-world-is-coming-to-Atlanta”ness within a short notice’s driving distance. We quickly made ourselves at home, as we took advantage of all the niceties and perks that Atlanta had to offer us on pretty much every day we honeymooned there. Though the actual wedding day felt like a blur, the honeymoon week we shared was absolutely perfect and seemingly endless.

On the very first full day we arrived back in town in Lynchburg from our honeymoon, I began feeling very sick and soon realized that the regular (and irregular) mishaps of everyday life didn’t stop because Jeff and I were now married; rather, they were simply nice enough to pause while we honeymooned. Attempting to make a quick trip to Bed, Bath, and Beyond and Target that day to finish off buying some items from our left-up registry, Jeff and I piled in the car – my lovely 2003 Toyota Corolla – and headed on our way. No sooner had we finished our quick shopping trip than my car decided to stop working. Literally. Would. Not. Start. [Oh, and I failed to mention it was HOT that day. And yes, remember, I was feeling quite sick.]

A few Target icees, a wasted hour of our sweet married life, and an $80 towing truck bill later, Jeff and I found ourselves in the sweet air conditioning of our little-newlywed-apartment-suited-just-for-two. And we found ourselves grateful to have each other to go throughout all of life’s messes with–

Fast forward.

I got over my feelings of sickness, as one often does, and returned to the daily necessities and duties of my everyday life. It quickly became apparent that my little Corolla was in a ridiculous need of a new starter. Once in the shop for a new starter, we also acknowledged the need for a variety of services the Corolla was due for and decided to splurge upon rising to the occasion to fix them all in one fell swoop.

That’s when the little writer-voice inside of me starting thinking (and typing).

My car didn’t just stop and sit dead on me one day out of nowhere. It gave me warning signs along the way. Some went undetected, for sure. Others, ignored. And still some, “yeah I’ll get around to checking that out.” But on that dreadful day in the Target parking lot, nothing budged. Literally.

Once we acknowledged the need for a new start(er), the unveilings and remembrances of other “fixes” came to mind, were clearly exposed, and were properly fixed.

This rude awakening and introduction to married life via broken-down-car-madness made me wonder, “Is there anything else, any area of my life, in need of a serious fresh, new start?” Maybe an old friendship that could be revived. Perhaps a new skill or job to be pursued. A fresh perspective and attitude with which to approach my little corner of the world, possibly. Extra time with God not merely to “make sense of it all,” but to simply let all marinate into my mind what He’s done by grace and what He’s up to next, right around the corner, of this dear, sweet life I get to have and enjoy having, moment by moment, day by day.

Because of my silly story, I wonder the same about you. Is there some evidence in your life that something is in need of a fresh, new start? Maybe it’s something you haven’t even had the time or energy to notice yet, but it’s there. Not in the back of your mind yet, but lingering in the background scenes of your life. Maybe it’s something you’ve been ignoring, saying, “Yeah, yeah, yeah, I’ll get around to doing that later.” But later never comes; and apathy, busyness, and/or misery become a three-fold tribe of your new dearest friends.

Wherever you find yourself in this journey today, at the very least entertain the answers to these questions to determine what you can do to gain a fresh start in specific areas of your life. If not, I can already hear the sounds of a tow truck about an hour’s distance away. And who knows what that’ll end up costing you...