Dec 7, 2011

he notices

ian had just gotten to the table, and i was standing at the counter working on dinner. he started a conversation,

"what are you doing"

"working on dinner"

"no, on your phone"

"oh, just emailing somebody"

then i had to walk over and give him an excited hug. "you can see me. and you can tell that i'm on my phone. and you're asking me what i'm doing."

in a non-brain injury relationship, that exchange wouldn't happen. it probably wouldn't be that exciting that your husband asked what you were doing. but for us - it's huge. sometimes i'm not sure that ian can even see me. he has one crazy eye from the accident that isn't normally in line with his left, and we've always been puzzled now by his eyesight. my typical test when he says he's looking at me - "is my hair up or down?" or "what color is my shirt?" He sometimes gets it right, but he also sometimes gets it wrong.

so as i was standing on the other side of the kitchen from him, his question took me back to the hospital rooms, back to the therapists comments, that he needed to initiate more, needed to be aware of his environment. and he is. he doesn't always ask those questions - but when he does, it is so sweet.

and these are the types of moments that are beauty in our marriage. we don't have moments of ian surprising me with cleaning the house, or making dinner, or planning a special date night. he can't serve me by setting the mouse traps in the attic or setting up the christmas tree. so our joy is added to in these little glimpses of mercy and little glimpses of ian's care for me - which really aren't that little for someone like ian.

grateful today that he notices me.

thank you, always,
larissa

14 comments:

Barbara said...

love this post! YES YES YES to every step!
Barbara

Anonymous said...

Larissa I'm so happy that you were encouraged. Praise the Lord! I pray that Ian will be able to generate more and more questions in the days ahead. Thank you for sharing.
Wendy in MD

Anonymous said...

Wow, Larissa, I'd say that is progress! AND he does see you, and he loves you - that is so evident in the way he does look a you - and for you, when you are not near. The love you two have is so precious - God has given it to you - cherish it always. Rene

Anonymous said...

that is so sweet! Rejoicing with you, Joy from RI

Trubilee said...

grateful with you that he saw and noticed and asked. And so encouraged by Christ's work of contentment, joy, and gratitude in your heart. Wow!

Anonymous said...

You are amazing people. I thank god regularly for giving me the chance to meet you and to have you as a friend. There is so much that I can learn from you.
Jenn

a said...

love. it.

K Blue said...

This is a beautiful and lovely post. Hooray for the blessings of each day. The two of you are really so blessed to have each other - and are such a continued inspiration.

Laura said...

God is so good. He takes care of his kids. How fun that Ian noticed!! Celebrating with you in IN.

Anonymous said...

I just had to read this post over and over again...it is so wonderful!

Still Praying!

Mary Ann K.

Anonymous said...

Thanks so much for sharing the daily life happenings as you are. It allows us to rejoice with you over the victories and pray with you in the downtimes. Looking forward to the day he notices a new hairdo!!
Leisa in TX

Leslie Dawn said...

Praising The LORD with you. God is faithful. Refreshed me & gave me hope.

Tim said...

Love this post too! Just gotten to know your blog today from a FB post. Your committment to love and marriage is so inspiring to me. THANK YOU for keeping this blog and sharing about your life and what God is doing in you and through you! Praying for you today.

Katy said...

Reading through posts is bringing tears to my eyes...the true gratefulness, selflessness, love, beauty, tenderheartedness, and sweetness of each and every word just touches my heart so much. Soli Deo Gloria! :)

Warmly,
Katy